Shubman Gill
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Early career
His father shaped his career
Hindol Basu, How Shubman’s dad shaped his son’s cricket career, February 5, 2018: The Times of India
He was not a professional cricketer, but such is Lakhwinder Singh’s cricketing nous that he can give any coach a run for his money. Lakhwinder, who himself wantedto play the game professionally but lack of opportunities nipped his dream in the bud, was son Shubman Gill’s first coach. Even now, whenever the youngster, Man of the Tournament in theU-19 WorldCup, isin doubt over cricketing matters, heconsultshisfather.
“Shubman was interested in the sport since a very young age. Hestartedwielding a bat at the age of three. He never liked any other toy. He would play with a bat and a balleven before going tobed.
“Seeing his interest in the game, I decided to train him. I made him play 500 to 700 balls every day. To makehim adept at handling fast bowling, I used to throw the ball over a manji (charpoy). The ball tends to travel faster after skidding off the charpoy. Besides that, he practcised with a single stump as his bat. That helped Shubman in finding the middle of the bat more often than not,” said Lakhwinder.
To provide Shubman better training, Lakhwinder moved his family from Chak Khere Wala – a village in Fazilka district – to Mohali in 2007. Shubman’s grandparentsstillstayin Chak Khere Wala.
“Our village is about 300 kilometers from Mohali. But due to lack of facilities there, we brought him here (in Mohali),” recalledLakhwinder.
“We fully supported him in achieving his dream to become acricketer.”
