Legendary Sunil Gavaskar said he would be happy if the Indian captain Shubman Gill goes on to break his long-standing record. Gavaskar holds the record of most runs in a series by an Indian batter and backed Gill to go past his milestone.
The former Indian skipper had amassed 774 runs in his debut series of four Test matches against the great West Indies team in 1970-71 at an incredible average of 154.80.
On the other hand, Gill has already aggregated 585 runs in two Test matches against England at a splendid average of 146.25. Thus, Gill is in contention to break Gavaskar’s record in the ongoing five-match series.
Sunil Gavaskar told India Today, “He is a worthy contender. I think Lord’s is where that record will go. The purity of his technique is wonderful to watch. He’s got all the shots in the book, and more importantly, he has the wonderful ability to shoulder the responsibility of the team. “Records are meant to be broken. I would be delighted if another ‘SG’ takes that record.”
The Little Master backed Gill to become the first batter to score 1000 runs in a single series. Legendary Sir Don Bradman holds the record of most runs in a Test match series (974) in the 1930 Ashes.
“What would be truly amazing is if he becomes the first-ever batter to score 1000 runs in a series. There are a minimum of six innings left in the series. And with the kind of form he’s shown, there’s every hope that he can set records that would be virtually impossible to break.”
Adding further, Gavaskar also hailed Gill for leading from the front and getting the best out of his players.
“He got a hundred in his first Test. Now, a hundred in each innings of the second Test. Captaincy sits lightly on his shoulders, and he has a pleasant air about him on the field. Yes, he is very competitive. Yes, he wants wickets. But there’s just this pleasant air about him, which makes life easier for all those playing under him,” said Gavaskar (via the aforementioned source).
The third Test match between India and England will be played at Lord’s, London from 10th July onwards.
