“A proud moment for Gill, he has earned it” - Salman Butt on young Indian batter being compared to Sachin Tendulkar by Wasim Akram
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has stated that Wasim Akram comparing Shubman Gill to Sachin Tendulkar is a proud moment for the young Indian batter. He asserted that Gill has ‘earned’ the accolades on the basis of some terrific performances over the last few months.
In a recent interaction with Sportskeeda, Akram opined that bowling to Gill in T20 cricket is similar to bowling to Tendulkar in ODIs during the field restrictions. Akram also termed the elegant Indian batter as a future superstar of world cricket.
Reacting to Akram’s praise of Gill, Butt said on his YouTube channel:
“Wasim bhai has said that bowling to Gill is like bowling to Tendulkar. I think everyone has their own way of showering praises. Lot of big [former] cricketers compare youngsters with legendary players from a previous era because they can relate to it.
“These are deserving comments for him. A proud moment for Gill that Wasim Akram, regarded as one of the world’s best bowlers, has said this. He has earned it. His batting has been outstanding in the last few months. He has been on top of his game and he is looking as the standout batter in the game at present.”
Gill was the leading run-getter in the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Opening the batting for Gujarat Titans (GT), the 23-year-old smashed 890 runs in 17 matches at an average of 59.33, with three hundreds and four fifties.
Wasim Akram’s comments on Shubman Gill
Praising Gill, Akram said that it is difficult to get the right-handed batter out since he plays proper cricketing strokes.
The Pakistan legend explained:
“As a bowler, if I am bowling to Gill in the T20 format, it’s like bowling to Sachin Tendulkar in one-day cricket in the first 10 or 15 overs [with the field restrictions in place]."
"If I was bowling to [Sanath] Jayasuriya and [Romesh] Kaluwitharana, I know I have a chance of getting them out because they try to go after every ball. Players like Sachin and Gill play proper cricketing shots."
The 57-year-old predicted an extremely bright future for the talented young batter and added:
“In the current generation, Gill is someone who will score in all three formats and consistently. He is a future superstar of world cricket.”
Gill has represented India in 15 Tests, 24 ODIs, and six T20Is and has notched up seven international hundreds.