Shubman Gill became a household name after he won the man of the tournament award, top-scoring for India in the 2018 Under-19 World Cup. Gill's terrific form with the bat was one of the reasons why India won the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. Gill is widely regarded by many experts and players as the future of Indian cricket team. During an interaction with his IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Gill recalled a hilarious sledge from Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya while playing a one-day game against Baroda during his first season in domestic cricket. Shubman Gill, recalled how Hardik Pandya tried to provoke him to hit his deliveries during a domestic 50-over game..
Here is the video:
"It was my year of Ranji Trophy season and we were playing a one-day against Baroda and I remember Hardik bowling to me and he kept on sledging me, I don't know for what reason," Gill said in a video uploaded by KKR on their Twitter handle.
Recalling how it started, Gill, who was playing for his home state Punjab, said that he tried to hit Hardik's ball on the up, which turned him angry and led to one of the funniest sledges he has ever across on the field.
"Actually he was bowling to me and I tried to hit him on the up and the ball went straight to the fielder and then he kept on sledging me and saying "Ae chal na maar na! Chal na ye 19 nahi hai ye. Chal na maar na (C'mon hit me, this is not Under-19 cricket, hit me)," said Gill, explaining the whole incident.
Rohit Sharma, vice-captain of India's limited-over side, during one of his Instagram Live sessions, heaped praise on the young batsman, even calling him as the "future of Indian cricket".
"I think Shubman is a fluent batsman. He is a future of Indian cricket. Whenever he gets a consistent run, he will get confidence. He has a good domestic record. I think we should look to bring him into the side. There is a lot of competition in the side," Rohit told Harbhajan Singh, during an Instagram Live session in April.