As ICC U-19 World Cup star batsman Shubman Gill reached his hometown along with his father Lakhwinder Singh Gill in Sector 70, Mohali, on Friday. He met his mother Keart Gill after 51 days. The youngster played for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy after arriving in India from New Zealand and Friday was celebration time for the Gill family.

During a recent chat with a Chandigarh Newsline, Gill said, “It has been close to two months since I met my family. The U-19 World Cup was like a dream for all of us and we are glad that we converted the dream into a reality. To win the player of the tournament award means a lot to me and that trophy is my biggest gift to my family and country. We all aspire to play in Indian colors and I am happy that my parents saw the India U-19 team win the title.”

Also read: Gill's century against Karnataka

Shubman scored as many as 372 runs in the U-19 World Cup, including a century against arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-finals. The youngster, who became the fourth-youngest batsman last year to smash the first-class hundred for Punjab in Ranji Trophy, scored 102 against Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare Trophy last week. With IPL coming up, Shubman is looking forward to playing for Kolkata Knight Riders, who picked him for a huge money of ₹1.8 crore during the auction.

Recently, Shubman also leveled the record of Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh of smashing six sixes in a list A innings during his century for Punjab against Karnataka. Talking about the same, he said, “Playing for the Punjab team along with seniors like Yuvi Paji and Harbhajan Paji apart from other team-mates has been a learning experience for me and the century against a team like Karnataka always helps your confidence. Punjab coach Ajay Ratra has also been spending time with us and sharing his inputs. My next target is now IPL and playing for a team like Kolkata Knight Riders will also help my game.”

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Father Lakhwinder Singh Gill has explained Shubman’s training schedule once the youngster gets free from celebrations. He said, “I was in Bengaluru to watch him play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The century against Karnataka, which had players like K L Rahul and Vinay Kumar, added to his confidence. Today evening, a lot of young kids also came to watch Shubman with his medal.”

Shubman’s father concluded by stating that his son’s hard work is paying rich dividends now, he said, “It is the result of hard work of all the years and we will always cherish this medal. With IPL coming up, we will chalk out his training schedule from tomorrow. Even though he has been conscious about his diet, he has told his mother to prepare his favourite dal.”