Former Pakistan Cricketer Compares Shubman Gill With Swiss Tennis Great Roger Federer
New Delhi: Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt has compared Shubman Gill with tennis great Roger Federer and called himself a fan of the Indian batter after the right-hander scored his maiden double hundred in ODIs a couple of days ago.
Gill has been in the limelight for his consistent performances for India as an opener in ODIs. On Wednesday, the 2018 U-19 World Cup winner, impressed once again with a knock of his lifetime. He scored 208 off just 149 balls to help India win by 12 runs against New Zealand in the first ODI and lead the series 1-0.
He also became the fastest Indian cricketer to reach 1000 runs in ODIs, completing the milestone in 19 games. Butt was all praise for Gill and called himself a fan of the Indian batter who possess tremendous batting prowess.
“I have been a fan of Gill ever since he played in that World Test Championship final against New Zealand in England due to the time that he has and the elegance and the finish that he has in his strokes.
“You won’t see many touch players like him in international cricket. There is talk of only power hitters everywhere these days,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.
Gill’s elegant strokeplay impressed Butt and the former Pakistan opener compared the Indian’s game with the playing style of Federer. Butt highlighted how Gill relies on finesse and skill rather than power.
“This is a different kind of cricket that Gill is playing. It is almost like Roger Federer who plays his shots with incredible quality and touch. The finesse that Shubman Gill has shown in his game is very rare in players with such a young age.
“He is one of his kind and there is a glimpse of greatness,” elaborated Butt. “It was not just about his touch shots but also about the way he scored his runs despite all major batters getting out at the other end at regular intervals.
“The way he picked and chose his shots and the bowlers to target showed that his game has already developed to a greater extent,” he added. India will play New Zealand on Saturday at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur.