It was IPL time, he was training on what seemed like a ‘dicey’ pitch – some balls flying towards his face, others darting at his ribs. Shubman would stop training, dump the white balls back, ask for a shiny red new one.

Gavaskar, one of India’s all-time batting greats, has been vocal about Gill’s potential, suggesting he could replace Rohit Sharma as ODI skipper.