2018 U19 World Cup: Shubman Gill to relish Youth ODI career with 100-plus average

The right-handed top-order batsman Shubman Gill, who has shown the shades of Team India skipper and batting mainstay Virat Kohli, has been the talk of the town which further saw him delivering effusively with the bat, for the India Under-19 team during the ongoing 12^th edition of the Youth World Cup in New Zealand.

Since the tournament kicked off on January 13, Indian colts have been indomitable so far with five wins on the trot – to qualify for the grand finale and they will face Australian youth on February 3 at Christchurch to eye the glory.

The young batting genius Gill is set to register a spectacular record by finish the youth One-day international career with the batting average over hundred which in itself reflects how Punjab-based rising star has performed in the mega-event so far to amass bulk of runs.

Gill to walk out with phenomenal average:

With India all set to face Australia on Saturday, Gill’s batting average won’t that be affected even if he would not open his account at the top.

Interestingly, Gill is going to be the first batter to achieve the feat of culminating his youth 50-over career with the three-figure average.

Known for the stroke-making, the 18-year-old Gill went on to collect four fifties and the unbeaten hundred against Pakistan U19 in the much-awaited semi-final clash.

Considering his average which is the major highlight of the competition so far apart from the supremacy of the Prithvi Shaw-led India, Gill has been in red-hot form see the senior cricketers praising his temperament while delivering in the away conditions.

Pertinently, earlier the world cricket board International Cricket Council has already maintained that a player can feature in the only Youth World Cup.

Gill has further set a massive example after racking up 102 against Pakistan which further saw him registering 347 runs the staggering average of 170.50 after four outings in the ongoing competition on New Zealand shores.

From Bradman to Gill’s heroics:

Interestingly, Sir Donald Bradman from Australia finished his Test career at the average of 99.94 when he was dismissed on nought when he required just four runs to go past the tally of 7,000-run mark while playing his 52 Test against England at the Oval.

The other scenario could have been if Gill would have been dismissed in the summit clash against Pakistan, he was bound to score either 80-odd runs to maintain the 100-plus average or had to remain not out in the impending final.

Gill’s consistency won hearts:

However, in the previous edition, the young batting sensation amassed 351 runs which saw him smashing two half-centuries in last games as he went to register consecutive six fifties and he eventually became the first to achieve this feat.

The special knocks from Gill have further headlined owing to his consistency and he went on to eventually provide a solid start to the team while featuring under the guidance of veteran Rahul Dravid, who has been the bedrock for Team India during his international career.

Concurrently, Gill stands at the third spot in the leading run-scorer, after Windies A Athanaze (418) and South African R van Tonder (348).

After striking four fifties consecutively, Shubman became the second player after Bangladesh’s Mehedi Hasan Miraz, who achieved the milestone in 2016 at home.

In overall, 14 Youth ODI fixtures, Gill is averaging at 103.23 after amassing 1,118 runs.

Follow the Youth ODI World news here: India U19 Vs Australia U19