Recently named India's T20I vice-captain, Shubman Gill started his Asia Cup 2025 campaign with a quick-fire 20*(9) with the help of two fours and a six to help India chase 58 runs against UAE in Dubai.
Heading into the series, he piled up centuries in England to prove a point of being a dependable batter in overseas conditions, as he finished the five-match Test series with 754 runs in 10 innings.
His inspired leadership and batting paved the way for his T20I comeback for the first time since July 2024, when India toured Sri Lanka.
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As the 26-year-old continues to gain prominence in Indian cricket, the cricketer opened up about his early days as a kid when he was kicked out of his cricket academy.
Why was Gill kicked out of his cricket academy?
In his podcast with Apple Music, Gill spoke about his time before he made it to Punjab's age-group teams, where he would go on to make big runs in the early years.
He further went on to reveal why he was kicked out of the public academy where he trained alongside other struggles, like finding a balance between school and cricket practice.
"During the initial phases, my dad had a falling out with the academy coach that we were enrolled in, and he kicked us out. It was a public academy, not like the private one. The coach used to have his sessions from 6 am to 10 am and from 4 pm to 6 pm," Gill told.
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"My dad used to wake me up at 3 am, I used to do half-day school till 11 am, and then practice till 3 pm until he came back again — did this for about a couple of years. I don’t have bad memories or anything, but this phase was challenging as a kid to wake up at 3 am every day," he concluded.
At 26, Gill has already represented India in 55 ODIs, 37 Tests and 22 T20Is, scoring 6020 runs across formats with 18 centuries and 25 fifties.
His ODI average of 59.04 is the highest in the history of the game among the batters who have scored 2000 or more runs in the format.