Legendary Sunil Gavaskar picked Shubman Gill as India’s breakout performer of 2023. Gill performed consistently in all formats but he took his ODI game to the next level. Gill had a sensational run in 2023 in ODIs, scoring 1584 runs in 29 matches at an average of 63.36 to end the year as the highest run-scorer in the format.
However, Gill was not able to take his ODI form to the red-ball version, managing only 258 runs in six matches at an average of 28.66.
Furthermore, the youngster was at his absolute best for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023, scoring 890 runs in 17 matches at an average of 59.33 to finish as the leading run-getter in the lucrative tournament.
Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports, “Breakout performer, I would imagine would be Shubman Gill for the way he batted throughout the 2023 season in all formats of the game. Test cricket, at the start, he was unstoppable.”
“Towards the end, he tapered off in Test cricket but the ODI and T20 performances were exceptional. So he would be the breakout performer as far as the men’s team is concerned.”
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan also showered praise on Gill for his consistent performances in 2023. Pathan said that Gill’s form was a huge positive for India in the last year.
“Shubman Gill, especially in ODI cricket. The way this year was for a young boy in ODI cricket, who is probably the future of the Indian team. I feel he has a huge leadership future as well. Considering that, Shubman Gill’s year was a huge positive.”
In the opening Test match against South Africa, Gill returned with scores of 2 and 26 and thus could not get the job done for the team. The second Test match between South Africa and India will be played at the Newlands, Cape Town from January 3.
