Netizens lauded India batter Shubman Gill after he joined the legendary MS Dhoni in an elite club of Indian cricketers who have attained the No.1 ranking in ODIs.

 

Not only he's the No.1 ODI batter in the world, but Shubman Gill is also the second fastest to get there after MS Dhoni.

While MS Dhoni reached the landmark in 38 essays, Shubman Gill needed 41 innings to achieve the top spot in the ICC's official rankings for ODI batters. 

Interestingly, the Fazilka-born cricketer ended Babar Azam's two-and-a-half-year reign as the world's No.1 ODI batter and became the youngest Indian to attain the numero uno after breaking the legendary Sachin Tendulkar's record.

 

Before Shubman Gill, Sachin Tendulkar was the youngest Indian to become the No.1 batter in ODIs, having accomplished the feat as a 25-year-old in 1998. However, the dashing India opener leapfrogged Sachin Tendulkar as he reached the milestone at 24.

 

With Team India looking like a well-oiled machine, registering an eight-match unbeaten streak in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, Shubman Gill managed to move past Babar Azam due to his 92-run against Sri Lanka last week.

 

Shubman Gill missed India's first two matches in the quadrennial event due to Dengue fever, but since his return, he has managed to amass 219 runs in six essays with two fifties.

 

Whereas, Babar Azam hasn't lit up the Cricket World Cup with his dazzling batting displays, only scoring 282 runs in eight innings. Yet he has failed to reach the heights that Rachin Ravindra (565), Quinton de Kock (550), and Virat Kohli (543) have touched.

 

With Babar Azam losing his place atop the ODI batting rankings and Shubman Gill occupying that spot, the latter joined an elite list of Indian cricketers who have held that position.

 

Besides Shubman Gill, three other Indians, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli, have been the No.1 ODI batters in the past.

 

Though Shubman Gill is now the top-ranked ODI batter in the world, cricket pundits have questioned his attitude and performances in the World Cup.

 

For instance, the legendary Sunil Gavaskar slammed him for throwing his wicket away at times, especially after doing all the hard work against opposition pacers at the start of the innings.

 

“He (Shreyas Iyer) lost his patience. He was batting on 19, threw his wicket away. Shubman Gill (was batting on) fifty (52), threw his wicket away,” Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports.

 

“Kohli never does that. Kohli will seldom ever throw his wicket away. He makes you earn his wicket. And that is exactly what you need. When he got to 70-80, realizing that he has an opportunity to get to a hundred and why not? Hundreds don't come everyday,” the 1983 World Cup winner added.

 

“You need to know how to get to a hundred and it's important for Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill. Shubman Gill is at least getting hundreds, Shreyas Iyer is not getting hundreds. He is getting his opportunities to bat at number 4 on pitches as good as these and attacks as toothless as this and he is throwing away the opportunity,” Sunil Gavaskar underlined.

 

Meanwhile, after missing out on his maiden World Cup ton against Sri Lanka, Shubman Gill revealed that he was yet to attain full fitness from the brief spell of Dengue he experienced just before the prestigious competition.

“Not in full fitness. I am four kilos down from dengue in terms of mass and muscle weight,” Shubman Gill said after India's win against the islanders. 

“The odd ball was seaming and I hit the balls in my areas. You couldn't get into a shell. I looked to put pressure on the bowlers. I felt in the previous matches I got starts except the last one.

 

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“We thought about rotating the strike today. I honestly don't think it was a 400 wicket. We batted well to get 350,” Shubman Gill pointed out.

 

“The way they were bowling, we were anticipating wickets. Siraj is always fired up. They were sensational. They have made the job easier for us. Shreyas was the key today. He batted superbly,” he elaborated.

 

On the other hand, former India opener Aakash Chopra praised Shubman Gill after he made a quickfire 92 against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

 

“Rohit (Sharma) got out at the start. It was an important game for Shubman because he has an average of eight on this ground if we see the IPL. He did miss a century but batted extremely well until he batted,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel. 

 

“Virat Kohli was there alongside him. Luck did favor both of them at the start. Virat Kohli was chasing another milestone but he didn't get it. Both of them reached close to a hundred but couldn't score it. It would have been good if it had been scored but what difference does it make?”

 

“I feel it's not a good thing if you have an obsession with milestones. Scoring runs for the team is important. If you score eight extra runs, of course the team also scores those eight extra runs, but even if you get out, 92 is a very good contribution for the team,” he summed up.

Shubman Gill will next be in action against the Netherlands at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where Team India will look to secure their 9th consecutive victory in the Cricket World Cup.