Shubman Gill Credits Tendulkar's Inspiration and Kohli's Drive in Shaping His Cricket Career

India Test captain and vice-captain of the T20I side Shubman Gill recently revealed that his two cricketing idols have always been Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. The young skipper has emerged as one of India’s most consistent batters and is already making his mark in leadership, having taken over the Test captaincy from Rohit Sharma and guiding India to a 2-2 series draw against England.

Gill’s rise to leadership in Indian cricket has coincided with the departure of stalwarts like Kohli and Rohit from Test cricket. Known as “The Prince” in reference to Kohli’s “The King,” Gill revealed in a podcast on Apple Music that he first idolised Tendulkar, his father’s favourite, and later began looking up to Kohli as he matured as a player.

“I have had two idols. The first one was Sachin Tendulkar. He was my dad’s favorite, and I actually got into cricket because of him. He retired in 2013, and around 2011–2013 was when I really started to understand cricket properly — not just the skills, but also the mental and tactical side of the game.”

“That was also the time I began following Virat Kohli closely. I loved watching the way he went about his business, the sheer passion he had for the game, and the hunger he carried. You can learn all the skills and all the technique, but hunger is something you either have or you don’t. Virat had it in abundance, and that really inspired me.”

Gill’s performances in England in 2025 highlighted why he is seen as the future leader of Indian cricket. He scored 754 runs across five Tests at an average of 75.40, including four centuries. Remarkably, every time he crossed fifty, he converted it into a hundred.

At Edgbaston, he scored 269 and 161 in the same match, accumulating 430 runs — a record for any Asian batter in a Test series in England. His consistency and temperament have positioned him as a key figure for India as the team enters the post-Kohli-Rohit era.