Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram praised Shubman Gill, stating that bowling to him in T20s is similar to bowling to the batting legend Sachin Tendulkar in ODI cricket with field restrictions in place. Gill has been in sublime form with the bat across formats over the last year. Recently, he finished as the highest run-getter in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, scoring 890 runs in 17 matches at an average of 59.33, with three tons as well.

Praising Gill, Akram compared his batting style to  Tendulkar. During a discussion on Sportskeeda, he said: “As a bowler, if I am bowling to Gill in the T20 format, it’s like bowling to Sachin Tendulkar in one-day cricket in the first 10 or 15 overs [with the field restrictions in place]. If I was bowling to [Sanath] Jayasuriya and [Romesh] Kaluwitharana, I know I have a chance of getting them out because they try to go after every ball. Players like Sachin and Gill play proper cricketing shots.”

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Having made his international debut in 2019, Shubman Gill has played for India in 15 Tests, 24 ODIs and six T20Is so far. The right-handed batter has scored 890 in the longer format which came at an average of 34.23, with two tons and four fifties as well. In ODIs, he has smashed 1311 runs at an average of 65.55, with four centuries and five fifties. Speaking of T20Is, he has 202 runs at a strike rate of 165.57, with one century as well.

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Wasim Akram further added: “In the current generation, Gill is someone who will score in all three formats and consistently. He is a future superstar of world cricket. His basics are right. I don’t know how the previous franchise released him, not realizing his potential and not realizing he can be the future captain, not just in franchise cricket; maybe eventually for India too,” he said.“They did not realize that this guy is going to win them tournaments, not just games.”