Former India batter Aakash Chopra has backed young batter Shubman Gill hto become the next big thing in world cricket, praising the youngster for his excellent game awareness. Gill, who made his India debut in 2019, was recently elevated to the leadership role in white-ball cricket, having established himself as a vital cog in the team across formats. Chopra feels Gill has the instincts to understand the pulse of the game, which was also the case with former India captain MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli when they first burst onto the scene.

“The biggest quality of Shubman is that he understands the pulse of the game. Some players are very quick to understand. Some understand eventually. Some never understand. So, the greats you see, they understand very quickly. So, Virat Kohli understood the pulse of the game very quickly. Mahendra Singh Dhoni understood the pulse of batting in ODIs very quickly,” said Aakash in a podcast with Raj Shamani.

“Shubman Gill understands the pulse of the game. He understands 100% where the game is going. Where can I go? Where can I take it? How can it run according to me? He is absolutely brilliant. He is top-class about himself,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gill is among prominent players who will be rested for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh starting October 7 as part of BCCI’s workload management policy. Gill, India’s No.3 in Test matches, is a vital cog in the team’s top-order alongside Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal and is expected to play all 10 Tests this season. Apart from Gill, a few more important players will also be rested keeping the the three- Test series against New Zealand in mind.

India will start their upcoming international season with a two-Test series against Bangladesh in Chennai from September 19 followed by the second match in Kanpur starting September 27.

“Yes, Shubman will be rested for the Bangladesh T20I series. If you look at the fixture, the three T20Is will be played on October 7 (Gwalior), 10 (Delhi) and 13 (Hyderabad). Now first Test vs New Zealand starts October 16.

“So with a turnaround of three days, it is important to give Gill a break,” a BCCI source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

(With PTI Inputs)