Shubman Gill means business in World Cup year

2023 is a year when the strong characters of certain cricketers are coming out with the ODI World Cup lined up at the end of it.

There's a plethora of talent at the disposal of the Indian team, who are finding ways to justify their selection for those 15 spots that will represent the Men in Blue in front of crores of home fans in the quadrennial event.

Understanding what is at stake, batting superstars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been rolling back years by lining up some vintage knocks to their names while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh are making the most of the fitness struggles of senior pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

There's no fatigue in playing for India, says Shubman Gill

However, very few have achieved the consistency and confidence that opener Shubman Gill has been exuding over the last two white-ball series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand respectively.

Shubman Gill critics turn into his fans

Leading into these series, Gill seemed to be living on borrowed time with the Indian team with no significant knocks coming from his bat. The pressure was only doubling on him with Prithvi Shaw knocking at the doors of the Indian team with his domestic exploits.

Shubman Gill becomes seventh Indian to slam a ton in the shortest format

At the same time, veteran Shikhar Dhawan is another threat always looming at large with runs flowing from his bat in series where he is also often asked to lead the team. This eventually forced batting great Sunil Gavaskar to urge Gill to up his ante.

"This means that someone like Shubman Gill will have to score hundreds and hundreds. Not the 50s and 60s that he is getting. He is a terrific talent, make no mistake. He is a rare talent. But he is not doing justice to his talent by getting out in the 50s or 60s," Gavaskar said during a TV show.

Shubman Gill surpasses Virat Kohli to become India's highest individual scorer in T20Is

And indeed the 23-year-old opener responded with some clarity as 12 white-ball matches later, Gill has 769 runs, along with four centuries, to his name. During this period, he scored runs at an average of 76.90 while striking at the rate of 120-plus.

Gill's run-scoring spree also saw him set some new records as he became the fifth and the youngest Indian to score a double hundred (208 against New Zealand) and also tumbled India's highest individual T20 score during the period (126* against New Zealand); surpassing Virat Kohli's 122* from last year.

A maiden ton against Bangladesh in Test before the home series meant Gill also became the youngest Indian batter to score in all three formats. His incredible show turned his critics into his fans as Gavaskar gave the young opener a new nickname.

"I have given you a new nickname, Smoothman Gill. I hope you don't mind."
To which Gill responded with a smile, "I don't mind at all, sir."

However, the change in Gavaskar's mood also once again made it clear that it can change for worse again if Gill takes his eyes off the ball.

In fact, Border-Gavaskar Trophy is just upon us and will be an acid test for Shubman Gill against a confident Australian side, who want to get their hands back on the trophy.

Fortunately for Gill, the batter has happy memories against the Aussies as he already has two half-centuries to his name against the team when India toured Australia in 2020-21. Coincidentally, it was also the series when Prithvi Shaw lost his place in the Indian team.

Some may say that a no-show in the Test series still may not cost him his spots in the white-ball squad but Gill will not like to take such chances as it may dent his form and confidence. On a personal level, Gill will also look to find further consistency as the batter has often struggled to make a significant impact in matches where he failed to get a start.

And with Shaw and Dhawan breathing down his neck, Gill won't let his guard down with the West Indies tour, Asia Cup, and Australia's white-ball tour awaiting as a tune-up to the World Cup.