Shubman Gill, the great batter for India, described a day when MS Dhoni’s gesture impacted him. Gill recalled his India debut, which occurred in 2019, in a recent interview. India was batting first in the fourth One-Day International of the five-match series against New Zealand in Hamilton. Trent Boult struck out Gill, who entered the game at the number three spot and managed just 9 runs before being taken out. In addition to Gill’s forgettable debut, the Indian team’s performance was subpar as they were bowled out for 92 runs. With 8 wickets in hand, New Zealand successfully chased down the pitiful total in 14.4 overs to claim a convincing victory.
Gill was disappointed in himself and India’s defeat by the Blackcaps. At this point, MS Dhoni encouraged him. “The day I made by debut, the team was all out for 90 (92) and I was dismissed for 15 (9). I was sitting outside being sad about scoring only 9 runs on my debut and India losing the match. So, Mahi bhai came and saw that I was very sad. I was around 18 to 19 years old back then. He told me ‘your debut was at least better than mine.’ Then he started laughing and joking and I was touched by that gesture,” said Gill on ‘Dil Diyan Gallan’ show hosted by Sonam Bajwa.
In his first international game, MS Dhoni was ejected for a golden duck, which is noteworthy. In Chattogram, there was an ODI game against Bangladesh. Regarding Gill, he has been chosen for India’s three-match T20I and ODI series against New Zealand. Additionally, he is a member of the team named for the two-game Test series against Bangladesh.