 "Exclusive | 'Shubman Gill will always score runs, just like Virat Kohli or David Warner': Anjum Chopra")
It’s not really surprising to see Shubman Gill amongst the first few names in the race for the Orange Cap, this Indian Premier League season . If there’s one cricketer from a recent U-19 batch who has really made every single opportunity that has come his way count, it’s Shubman. So much so, that in seven years’ time, after winning the 2018 U-19 World Cup (where he was Player of the Series with 372 runs), Shubman has officially taken over as India’s Test captain. He could well lead the Gujarat Titans to an IPL title this season as well.
It wasn’t a surprise then to hear former India captain Anjum Chopra say, “Shubman will always score runs for you”.
In a free-wheeling chat with Firstpost, Anjum talked about Shubman’s meteoric rise, how not seeing a highly anticipated 300+ total so far in this IPL is a good thing, why Sunrisers Hyderabad had another dismal outing, teenage talent Vaibhav Suryavanshi and what we should and shouldn’t expect from him and much more.
This is part two of an exclusive interview with Anjum Chopra on IPL 2025.
Firstpost: Anjum, there was a lot of talk, before the current IPL season began, about how this time we could see the first 300+ total for the first time. That hasn’t happened yet – SRH’s 286/6 vs RR is still the highest score. I personally feel that’s a good thing – that cricket, regardless of format, should always be a good contest between bat and ball. Your take on that…
Anjum Chopra: I am (also) not looking forward to a 300+ total. As a viewer it’s a great sight to behold – to see the ball travel. As a fan or viewer sitting in the ground it’s great to see your favourite team or player hitting fours and sixes. But as a broadcaster you know that you will only be saying things like – “great shot”, “excellent shot”, “well-timed shot” etc. When Ishan Kishan scored that century (106 not out vs Rajasthan Royals) and the next couple of matches were high scoring, I was thinking – ‘where is the game going?’.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsI share the same sentiment as you, that there should be a good contest between bat and ball. Say there are 9 runs needed to win in the last over of a match – you will feel that this is any day the batters’ game. But if a bowler comes out and defends those nine runs that is superb skill. I would also like to see something like that – like say a Mitchell Starc defending nine runs in the last over .
FP: Picking up from where you left off, you would say that the bowlers have fought back quite valiantly, in a way, especially after a string of high scores at the very beginning of the season. The bowlers haven’t really let the batters call the shots entirely, especially in some key phases. Would you agree?
AC: It’s really great (to see). The fact that after that first SRH match (SRH scored 286/6 vs RR) and Punjab Kings also had a very good game or two (PBKS scored 245/6 vs SRH and then 243/5 vs GT) the bowlers came back strong. This edition of the IPL in fact has given us great examples of bowlers coming back strong. Look at (Yuzvendra) Chahal coming back strong , Rashid Khan, Sai Kishore doing well, Arshdeep (Singh) – who has great batter-beating skills, Prasidh Kirishna bowling in different phases of the game and yet dominating the batters.
It’s a great thing that the bowlers have come back and had a say, especially after the tournament started on such an aggressive note by the batters. Look at Jasprit Bumrah – he can win you a game single-handedly. Just look at the impact that he has had, since he came back into the Mumbai Indians team after a break. And that is so good to see and such a great testament to his skills.
FP: The IPL has of course always been a platform where young talent has found an opportunity to showcase their skills. If you had to pick a few Indian players from this season who the senior selectors should definitely give a chance in the future, who would they be?
AC: Priyansh Arya is one. Vaibhav Suryavanshi (picked in India U-19 squad for the upcoming tour of England for one 50-over warm-up match, five Youth One-Day matches and two multi-day matches vs England U19) and Vignesh Puthur are very young.
I would still give someone like Digvesh Rathi some more time. Sai Sudharsan for sure is a candidate that the selectors should look at. He has gone and played County Cricket also (played for Surrey). I will be very surprised if Sai misses out on an India berth (has played 3 ODIs and 1 T20I for India so far and has been named in the India and India A squad for the tour of England).
FP: What do you think went wrong with the 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad this season? They began with a score of 286/6 – the second highest team total of all time in the IPL, but then this incredibly talented batting unit just fizzled out. The bowlers too, of course, have to shoulder the responsibility of another below-par season…
AC: No middle order. Between Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, someone was always scoring. There was a lot expected from Ishan Kishan, especially after he got a hundred in their very first match. It’s that consistency vs inconsistency factor. If you see Virat Kohli – so consistent. I was talking to Matthew Hayden the other day and I was telling him that ‘Virat Kohli and David Warner - I don’t remember these two batters being out of runs for a very long time.’ They maybe didn’t get runs for a few matches, but most of the time they have been out of runs, they have never been out of form. That’s the kind of consistency that these two batters have shown in world cricket.
Look at Virat’s consistency – he always scores runs. David Warner scores runs, irrespective of where he is playing. And that is what you expect from the younger generation players as well. Like Shubman Gill – he will always score runs for you. But Ishan Kishan should have delivered more. After that hundred, he should have come back and worked harder. I am sure he did work hard, but then he also has to deliver. So, between Ishan Kishan and Nitish Reddy and Aniket Verma and whoever else batted in the middle over, nobody took responsibility. There was no middle order. The bowling was absolutely on the edge, most of the time. Harshal Patel was looked at, Jaydev Unadkat - he came in later.
So, I think Sunrisers Hyderabad never got their act together after that first match, which is actually very surprising to see from a franchise that has been in the system for such a long time.
FP: What about Pat Cummins the captain. He is a very good Test captain for Australia, no doubt. But, just to play devil’s advocate, do you think the fact that he has never been a T20I captain for Australia impedes in any way his ability to lead a T20 side like SRH?
AC: I wouldn’t say that, no. Last season he took them to the final (vs KKR in 2024, where they finished as runners-up). So, I think that would be unfair to say. At the end of the day, Pat Cummins is a quality bowler. He has bowled so well.
Each time he took the new ball, he bowled well. So, to identify a leader in that pack today, apart from Pat Cummins, is tough. If he gets injured – who will then lead SRH? There is a big question mark over that. He (Cummins) knows the Indian conditions, but the others also have to contribute. The momentum in this game can change very quickly. If it can go your way quickly, it can go away from you also equally fast.
FP: A word now on the very young and very talented Vaibhav Suryavanshi. He is a great talent, no doubt, scored that record-breaking, whirlwind and has now been picked in the India u-19 squad for the upcoming tour of England. But do you think that there’s some fear that he might end up being just a slam-bang batter? He is still learning the game, perfecting his technique, so do you think that’s a real danger or not at all? He does have someone very protective and dependable like Rahul Dravid watching over him…
AC: Two things. One – the way he (Vaibhav Suryavanshi) hits the cricket ball is incredible. He keeps his shape every time he hits the ball. It’s incredible for a kid of that age to hit the cricket ball that long and that clean and that too against the best of bowlers. We are watching from the stands, but the ball is coming at him from 16 yards away and that too at a very brisk pace. For a young kid to have such reflexes and strong movement, to pick the ball like that, the hand-eye coordination, and to deposit the ball across the boundary line - that is incredible hitting. That is just great talent which has been worked upon.
Now, that is how he has learnt how to play cricket. This is a very early phase, where he has already tasted both success and failure. He scored that hundred and in the very next match he got out for duck. This generation doesn’t really work too much on technique. They just want to hit the cricket ball. I don’t think they practice defensive shots much. They only practice hitting the cricket ball. But, if that is the way cricket is played today, then they are learning those tricks of the trade.
Also, it’s extremely individual. Look at Shubman Gill and the way he plays and then look someone else from the same U-19 batch – nobody (from that u-19 batch) plays like Shubman Gill. And when we talk about Test cricket we look at someone like Shubman as a potential leader. That is one part of it. The other part of it is – we are talking about Vaibhav working on his technique, in order to have a long career. I think we are getting too drawn into the thought process that he has to have a long career.
First, let his career begin. This is just the start of the journey. He will make a splash, he will falter, nobody will talk about him, he will get dropped from the team, then he will come back again. So, he will see all the ups and downs that cricket has to offer. What he makes of it, is what he makes of it. So, right now, it’s his immediate family who will have the biggest impact on him, nobody will handle anyone. It is Vaibhav himself and his parents. Nobody is making anyone’s career. Everybody is too busy in their lives. It all depends on what Vaibhav himself wants to learn. All his hard work has helped him taste success, which is brilliant to see. But it’s too early to talk about what happens later for him, even next season.
If Sanju Samson was fit, Vaibhav wouldn’t have even got a look-in probably this season. If you see - different players from the same U-19 batch will end up having different fates. Everyone gets the same opportunities, but it depends on who makes those opportunities count and what their own individual approach is.
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