 "Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill during Asia Cup 2025. Image: Reuters")
Indian opener Abhishek Sharma has shared a funny story about his childhood friend and current Test captain Shubman Gill. Abhishek revealed that Gill was one of the most mischievous players in junior cricket, but he had a special ability to never get caught.
Abhishek shares interesting story about Gill
Speaking on the show Breakfast with Champions, Abhishek narrated an incident from their Under-16 days in Dharamsala. He said that their hotel was about 500 metres away from the stadium and the players used to travel by bus. The bus driver often stopped them from playing Punjabi songs, but one day the youngsters decided not to listen.
Shubman Gill was leading this protest from the front, as other players joined in arguing with the bus driver to play their music. Abhishek said the issue reached the coaches and the driver was called in to identify the guilty. All of them were lined up and the driver was asked to identify. At this point, Gill made an innocent face and avoided punishment.
“There is one guy who did a lot of mischief in age-group cricket but never got caught, and that is Shubman. I will tell you an incident. We were in Dharamsala for Under-16. Our hotel was 500m away from the stadium. We used to go there by bus. The driver was stopping the music, but we wanted to play Punjabi songs. He said no, and we got into an argument with him. And the one who was shouting the most was Shubman. The incident went to the coaches and the drivers complained,” Abhishek said.
“They asked the drivers to identify who did it. There were 4-5 of us. Five of us were standing in a line and Shubman was last. The coach pointed towards each of us and asked the drivers. They said no it was not him (Shubman). I was shocked. They called the four of us out and made us sign a letter that was to send us back home. I was sad that how come the one who started it was not called out. He has a talent to change expressions. He made an innocent face that day.” he added.
Gill and Abhishek recently featured for India in the 2025 Asia Cup in the UAE. India defeated bitter rivals Pakistan to win the T20 trophy last Sunday. Abhishek played a key role in India’s dominating campaign, scoring 314 runs in seven matches. He was named the Player of the Match for his explosive batting throughout the tournament.