Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland, who leads Manchester City’s lineup, recently met Indian Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill and handed over a signed pair of football boots to the Indian star.
Indian cricketer Shubman Gill, who has seen remarkable growth in the last year of the game, has risen to prominence after being handed the captaincy of the Indian team in the Test and ODI formats.
Although Gill has had a successful season in the red ball format, he has not been able to convince everyone with his white ball dominance. He has been left out of the ICC T20 World Cup squad for India, which was a big blow for the youngster, as this will be the second consecutive time that he will not be a part of India’s T20 World Cup squad.
Recently, Shubman Gill met one of the biggest football sensations of modern football, Erling Haaland, who plays for Manchester City in the English Premier League (EPL). The Indian captain met Ed Sheeran and Kevin De Bruyne during the last 9 months.
During their recent meetup, Manchester City star Erling Haaland signed a pair of shoes for the Indian prince of cricket, while on the other hand, Shubman also exchanged gifts with the Norwegian football star.
Shubman Gill meets Erling Holland.
– Holland gifted his signed football boots to the Indian captain. pic.twitter.com/yae3gYDxXh
– Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) 2 January 2026
Shubman Gill will have to go through rapid growth and adjustment
Irfan Pathan recalled the time when he first joined the Indian team as a teenager and how the great Rahul Dravid helped him through tough times and helped him grow.
Gill will now have to go through a process of adjustment, especially after being handed the responsibility of leadership at such a young age.
He said, “The same can be said for Gill. He became captain in the England series; he increased his average and authority within the team. Then he got the ODI captaincy; when that happens, you get a chance to grow a lot.”
Irfan Pathan said, “The more responsibility and challenges he gets, the more he will develop as a cricketer.”
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has supported young Indian player Shubman Gill, who was given leadership responsibilities early in his career. He also commented that comparisons are quite common for a talented player like him, as India has a generational legacy in the game.
“He has a lot of talent. There will always be comparisons. Virat was compared to Sachin (Tendulkar), and now Gill is being compared to Virat, who has scored 25,000-30,000 runs. I think he is fully capable of that. He has a good range of shots.”
“The more responsibility and challenges he gets, the more he will develop as a cricketer. I have seen that he is always ready for cricket. Always ready to learn. He has that attitude,” Pathan praised Gill extensively.
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