Shubman Gill’s record-breaking 269: The prince is the new king.
As a teenager, Shubman Gill would meticulously check the past scores of Virat Kohli in the age-group tournaments, and compare them with his own. Now, as India’s Test captain, he has hit a double hundred, more than Kohli’s highest score. But in a poetic coincidence, his 269 in the second Test against England is, as social media has caught on to, the same as Kohli’s Test cap number.
Beyond the coincidences, the importance of this knock, as the new captain takes over the team after the retirement of Kohli and Rohit Sharma, can’t be overstated. His ascension to the throne wasn’t exactly a shock due to the lack of contenders, but he did have his share of detractors. Even Rohit himself, when asked a few months back about potential leaders, had said that “the boys aren’t ready yet”. When Gill unveiled a new cricket bat for this series, it had the tagline “prince”, a reference to the moniker attached to him, and there were sniggers about arrogance. When India lost the first Test in England, criticism over his captaincy came from eminent cricketers such as Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain, who talked about a “lack of aura” and “captaincy by committee”.
More critics found their voice after India started the second Test defensively without Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav, two bowlers who could win games. And on a flat-batting track, India floundered to find themselves on 211 for 5, and starting at a possibility of being shot out for less than 300 at a huge loss potentially. It was in this vulnerable moment that Gill unfurled a flawless knock with a series-reviving potential. In Australia, India’s last Test series earlier this year, there were big moments in which Gill floundered under pressure. In the two Tests in England as the new captain, he has shown that he can cultivate the restraint needed in his batting. Now, it will be other teenagers around the country who will be tracking his scores, comparing themselves with him, and trying to emulate him. The prince is the new king.