Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has publicly backed Shubman Gill, linking the young batter’s rapid rise to a lesson he received early in his own international career from Rahul Dravid. Speaking on JioHotstar, Pathan recalled how Dravid prepared him for the demands of international cricket when he broke into the Indian team as a teenager.
“When I entered the Indian team at the age of 19, the great Rahul Dravid told me that you have come to the team, it is good, but the things would get tougher from here. I asked what to do in case things get tough. He told me you would get used to it,” Pathan said. Pathan believes the same process of adjustment and growth now applies to Gill, particularly after being handed leadership responsibilities at a young age. “Same can be said for Gill. He became captain, in that England series, he increased his average and authority within the team. Then he got the ODI captaincy, when that happens, you get an opportunity to grow a lot,” he added. Gill’s 2025 began steadily in the ODI format, with consistent returns in bilateral series before playing a key role in India’s ICC Champions Trophy triumph. He finished the tournament with 188 runs, highlighted by a century against Bangladesh. The defining phase of Gill’s year, however, came during his first full Test tour of England. With Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin unavailable, the burden of leadership fell heavily on the young Test captain. Gill responded with a historic series, scoring 754 runs in five Tests at an average of 75.40, including four centuries and a career-best 269. Pathan also addressed the weight of comparisons that follow elite Indian batters across generations. “He has a lot of talent. There will be always comparisons. Virat was compared with Sachin (Tendulkar), and now Gill is being compared to Virat, who has scored those 25,000–30,000 runs. I think he is fully capable of it. He has a fine range of shots,” Pathan said. Gill’s only notable setback came in T20 internationals, where a run of modest returns saw him score 291 runs in 15 innings at an average just over 24 in 2025, eventually missing out on selection for India’s T20 World Cup squad. Pathan views that phase as part of a broader learning curve. “The more responsibility and challenges he gets, he will grow more as a cricketer. I have seen that he is always ready for cricket. Always willing to learn. He has that attitude in him,” he said.
