The making of Shubman Gill the Test captain, through the eyes of coaches and a trainer

What caught India’s junior coach Abhay Sharma's attention when he first saw a 14-year-old Shubman Gill was the consistency of his conduct.

- GNS News Agency

Shubman had hit eight straight centuries for Punjab but there was nothing about his demeanour to suggest that. “His behaviour remained consistent whether he scored 100 or 10. His mindset was excellent, he knew he was good but always wanted to improve,” Sharma says. Two years later, Shubman, now 16, was at Dharamshala in the middle of a net session with his talented Punjab junior team of that time. WV Raman, former India opener and reputed coach, was on the sidelines. Shubman was facing a variety of bowlers, one of them an express pacer.

While judging a young batsman, Raman has relied on an old method. “What I look to see is the kind of time that he has when batting and how composed he is when up against real fast bowlers.” Shubman would get the coach’s nod. “He played the fastest bowler like any other bowler, he had a lot of time and he didn’t play the fastest bowler any differently,” recalls Raman.