Harbhajan rates Shubman Gill as high as Kohli and Rohit, compares youngster with Sachin Tendulkar

After narrowly missing out on his first international century on previous occasions, the stars aligned for Shubman Gill to finally get his first hundred when he slammed a gorgeous 130 in the third and final ODI against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Monday. The 22-year-old, who made his International debut in an ODI in 2019, had a splash with a top-class 130 off 97 balls, laced with 15 fours and a six, and was head and shoulders above everyone in the Indian team. Gill’s hundred secured India’s 3-0 series sweep on Monday and he was also adjudged player-of-the-series for the 245 runs he accumulated in three matches. Meanwhile, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh reserved high praise for Gill and even placed him in the same category as Team India skipper Rohit Sharma and prolific batter Virat Kohli. “He’s a sorted batsman, who has a sound technique, and very good shot selection. In terms of quality of batsmanship, I would bracket him with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul in the current Indian team. You love to watch them bat,” Harbhajan told Times of India. Harbhajan also asserted that Gill will lead India in the future. “For me, he’s a future India captain. He’s got the game, and he’ll learn about the captaincy. So, why not?” he added. Interestingly, Gill also broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record in the 3rd ODI against Zimbabwe as his 130 is the highest individual score by an Indian against Zimbabwe in ODIs. The previous highest score in ODIs against Zimbabwe by an Indian was by Tendulkar, who scored 127* in 1998 in the first ODI of three-match series. Speaking on that note, Harbhajan pointed out one special quality in Gill, which even the Master Blaster had. “The good thing about him is that he’s hungry for success. Few batsmen these days feel bad when they’re not scoring runs. He’s one of those characters. He feels he is letting the team down when he’s in poor form. It’s a quality one must have. It’s a quality that Tendulkar too had,” added Harbhajan.