Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh has reserved high praise for India’s latest superstar, Shubman Gill. The former off-spinner thinks that Gill can lead India one day as he has all the qualities of a leader. Singh also praised Gill’s batting skills and said that he is as good as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul. Notably, Shubman Gill scored his maiden international century against Zimbabwe on Monday. 

The 22-year-old registered the highest score by an Indian against Zimbabwe as he finished his innings on 130 (97). Gill played some breathtaking shots in his innings and reached his century in just 82 balls. Not only that, Gill has been among the runs for India in ODI cricket for the last few games. The right-handed batter has registered scores of 64, 43, 98*, 82*, 33, and 130 in the last six ODI innings. 

Overall, Gill has amassed 499 runs @71.25 and with a strike rate of 105.27 in the nine matches, he has played in the 50-over format. In 2022 alone, the 22-year-old has scored 471 runs at an average of 78.50 in seven matches he has played across formats. And for this consistency, Harbhajan Singh thinks that Gill can be India’s next captain. 

“For me, he’s a future India captain. He’s got the game, and he’ll learn about the captaincy. So, why not?” Harbhajan said to Times of India. The ‘Turbanator’ then praised the batter for his clear thought process. “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,” Singh added. 

He’s like Tendulkar: Harbhajan Singh

While talking about Gill’s mentality towards batting, Harbhajan Singh also compared him with the great Sachin Tendulkar. Singh said that Gill feels bad when he is not making contributions just like Sachin Tendulkar used to feel. 

“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,” says Harbhajan.