'Shubman Gill with a Broken Finger...': ISPL ace Sagar Ali reveals special story on Gujarat Titans Captain | Exclusive

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Life often takes one into the memory lanes. For the ISPL star Sagar Ali, those memories are sweet and has a special respect and admiration for Shubman Gill.

Sagar Ali is a known name to people courtesy of the Indian Street Premier League, where he recently became the Player of the Series in Season 2 of the competition.

The highly talented player has excelled in Tennis Ball cricket but had dreams in the traditional form of the game. Although his dreams of becoming an India star remained out of reach, he has gained significant popularity courtesy of his batting in the ISPL.

But Sagar represented Bengal at the youth level and played against some top names in Indian cricket. The southpaw played against the likes of Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and others during his Bengal days.

In a recent exclusive chat with MyKhel, Sagar shared a special story involving Shubman Gill.

Shubman is set to captain Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2025. The Indian batter has accomplished so much even at this tender age and continues to flourish and cement his stature in the game. But Gill was destined to be a star even in his younger days.

Sagar Ali shares his experience with the Punjab player, where Gill single-handedly took away the game from the grasp of Bengal. In one of the tournaments around nine years ago, Gill played a sublime knock against Bengal in a U16 Vijay Merchant Trophy encounter.

Sagar said Gill was playing with a broken finger but still scored centuries in both innings to help Punjab win.

"I feel proud to have played alongside Shubman Gill. We lost that semi-final match to Punjab. At that time, everyone knew he was an exceptional talent.

During the semifinal, Shubman had an injury on his left finger. He was an opener back then, but because of the injury, he came down the order to bat at No. 3 or 4. Despite the pain, he played a brilliant knock. We got 2-3 wickets early but then Shubman, with his injured finger, stepped up and scored a century.

In the second innings, Shubman stood tall once more, scoring another century and single-handedly winning the match for his team. Watching him that day, I knew he was destined to be a future cricketing star."

Gill will have a big task in the IPL 2025 season. He failed to take the Titans to the playoffs last season and the expectations will be high on them yet again.