Young Indian opener Shubman Gill rang in his 24th birthday on Friday, September 8. Gill is currently in Sri Lanka where the Men in Blue are representing their country in the Asia Cup. Gill’s birthday comes at a time when Rohit Sharma and Co are gearing up for their first Super 4 game against arch-rivals Pakistan. Despite having a busy training schedule, Indian players made sure to arrange a sweet surprise for Gill on the special day. A cake-cutting ceremony was organised inside the training camp in Colombo, where the India-Pakistan match will take place on September 10.
Happy birthday my bro @ShubmanGill 🎂♥️ pic.twitter.com/BKoYBvvDFP— Kuldeep yadav (@imkuldeep18) September 8, 2023
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav dropped a video of Shubman Gill’s birthday celebration on X (formerly known as Twitter). The clip featured the birthday boy cutting a cake while being surrounded by some of his teammates like Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel and Mohammad Siraj. In a photograph attached to the post, Gill was captured in a post-celebration look, with the cake smeared on his face. Some fans also shared the same picture across social media to extend their birthday wishes for Gill.
Shubman Gill celebration from the birthday party. pic.twitter.com/YaDG7nYNOo— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 9, 2023
Shubman Gill has failed to show consistency in the past few games in the blue jersey. The youngster was called up for the first two matches of the Asia Cup after KL Rahul was ruled out due to an injury niggle. Gill, however, could not match the expectations in the season opener against Pakistan which got washed out owing to heavy showers in Kandy.
India batted first in the rain-spoiled match and Shubman Gill came in to open the innings alongside captain Rohit Sharma. Both Indian openers looked helpless in front of Pakistan’s on-song pace attack, led by Shaheen Afridi. Gill took time to get settled at the crease. He faced as many as 32 balls before returning to the pavilion for 10 runs. Gill lost his wicket on a seemingly unplayable inswinger off Haris Rauf.
Shubman Gill, however, could make a roaring comeback in the subsequent Asia Cup fixture against Nepal. Coming to chase an achievable target of 231 runs, the Indian opening pair put on an enthralling show and sailed the team across the victory line without losing any wickets. Gill notched up his seventh ODI half-century in the match. He remained unbeaten at 67 runs, a knock that was comprised of 8 boundaries and one maximum. Rohit was equally impressive as he scored 74 runs off 59 balls, guiding his team to secure a 10-wicket win.