"All I Heard Was Shubman Gill...": Rahul Dravid Shares Unheard Tale In Chat With R Ashwin
Rahul Dravid shared some interesting insights on Shubman Gill's early days as a cricketer during a chat with Ravichandran Ashwin.
- Rahul Dravid coached India to the U19 World Cup win in 2018, with Shubman Gill a part of the team
- Shubman Gill was widely praised before Dravid first saw him play
- In a chat with R Ashwin, Dravid revealed how much he had heard of Gill, even before meeting him
One of the greatest cricketers to ever play for India, and now a T20 World Cup winner as the coach of the national team, Rahul Dravid has helped the country unearth some absolute gems. It was under Rahul Dravid's coaching that the Indian team won the U19 World Cup in 2018. The then-India U19 team had some phenomenal players, including the current Test skipper, Shubman Gill. In a chat with Ravichandran Ashwin for the 'Kutti Stories' on the latter's YouTube channel, Dravid explained how much Shubman Gill's name used to buzz even before he had met him.
"Shubman Gill was the obvious one, along with Prithvi Shaw. Many people discovered Shubman Gill because everywhere I went, all I heard was 'Shubman Gill, whoa, this player Shubman Gill.' And it's true, when you come through this Indian system, where you are a special player like Vaibhav [Suryavanshi] or [Ayush] Mhatre, they have been through so many coaches and scouts. Before I actually saw Shubman Gill, about six people had told me there's this kid called Shubman Gill, and that he's a very good player and things like that," Dravid told R. Ashwin in a video on YouTube.
"I can't say one. That would be very unfair. I think when I saw Rishabh for the first time, I knew this guy was something different. Looking back at the 2016 batch, I thought even someone like Khaleel Ahmed... he's still finding his way in, still not able to crack it... but when you saw him in Under-19, you thought, 'Wow, this kid has some ability for a young fast bowler'," Dravid added, as he highlighted the names of some youngsters from those days who really caught his eye.
India remains a talent factory as far as cricket is concerned. As Dravid took up a support staff role with the Rajasthan Royals, a number of exemplary talents have come up through trials.
"Riyan [Parag] was in there too. When I first saw Sanju Samson at 18 years old, he looked a million bucks. And you continue to see that. So many names are not mentioned. It's not one kid that makes you go 'Wow'; it's actually just the talent coming through the Indian system that makes you go 'Wow'. Even now, when you are at IPL trials and see new kids coming through, it's just incredible to see where all this talent is coming from."
India Cricket Team
Rahul Dravid
Ravichandran Ashwin