The Rise of a Middle-Class Champion in Cricket's Elite Realm

At the conclusion of the Test match against England, Shubman Gill surprised Francis, the father of new Gujarat Titans recruit Robin Minz, at the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi.

Francis, a veteran Army soldier who works as an airport security guard, was taken aback by Gill's kind and modest gesture. Despite his fame, the Titans captain's middle-class beliefs have always been evident in his demeanor, both on and off the field.

After his match-winning innings the day before had won India the series against England, he didn't let the chance to speak with one of his teammates' fathers pass him by. Maybe cricket had taught him to be unfazed by success and to never give up.

Gill has experienced what it's like to be in a tight spot. He had failed to score a half-century in 12 innings and had received clear instructions from the national selectors that he would be dropped in the event that he failed to contribute significantly in the second Test match against England in Visakhapatnam.

When he stepped to the crease in the second essay, he had already failed the first and was facing an uncertain future. Despite India's struggles on a shaky surface, Gill's career-saving century created a "weird" atmosphere.

"I'll summarize everything in a single sentence. Throughout the whole innings, my pulse remained constant while playing the first and final balls, Gill had said. That was the level of anxiety I was experiencing even after hitting my hundred. I found that to be really strange. This is something I have never experienced before.

Gill, at 24, has shown a level of maturity and flexibility that only veterans can imagine. In order to make room for Yashasvi Jaiswal to bat at No. 3 and support Rohit Sharma, he willingly left his opening position in the West Indies.

The position, which greats like Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara had made their own in the previous twenty years, required some getting used to. Gill had nine Tests with an average of 36.28, but he never gave up.

If his century in Visakhapatnam gave India the impetus to begin a comeback, his 91 in the second innings in Rajkot demonstrated the ability of the young guns (Jaiswal is another one of them) to shape India's destiny.

Gill has shown mastery in his art, even if Jaiswal has caused many to pay note. He is one of the fluent strokemakers and is never easy to control. He is an all-format player, thus his natural tendency will always be to attack. However, he demonstrated the qualities of self-control, perseverance, and forbearance during his undefeated 52 in Ranchi, which resulted in a series win.

The weather made the 192-run pursuit difficult, but Gill persevered. Ben Stokes invited him to go over the top by keeping the fielders up in the circle, providing him with ample bait to unleash the huge smashes.

Gill, however, did not want to take any chances and did not hit a boundary for 120 balls. The foundation of his unbroken 72-run partnership with Dhruv Jurel was playing it conservatively on a volatile track.

It appears like he saves his best for the second half of the game. During the 2020–21 Australia tour, his 91 at the fortress known as Gabba set the tone for a victorious 328-run chase.

He now knows how to face hardship head-on, absorb hits, and project the appropriate demeanor to make it through times of extreme need. He sometimes found it difficult to rotate the attack against Ranchi's spinners, but he persisted in his mission.

His skills are shown in the metrics. His averages in the first and second innings of a Test match are below average at 20.72 and 31.23, respectively, but he does quite well with averages of 43.9 and 44.14 in the third and fourth innings of a match.

It makes sense why Dravid was so happy after the exhilarating victory in Ranchi, hugging Gill tightly as soon as he emerged off the pitch.

If the head coach's thoughts briefly returned to his perfect 72 in Adelaide in 2003, don't hold it against him.

A few hours later, Gill published a motivating remark on Instagram and gave credit to Dravid for it. Who would it be if not you? When, if not now, will it be?

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.