Shubman Gill, the captain of the Indian Test team has chosen Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham as his favourite ground in England. In his debut series as the Test captain, he led India to a 2-2 draw with England in the five match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Gill completed the series as the run-scorer, having made 754 runs in 10 innings with an average of 75.40, including four hundreds. In a video shot by Apple Music on their YouTube account on Thursday, September 11, Gill answered the question of his favorite English stadium. Along with the answer to the question, he added the famous British series “Peaky Blinders” and stated:
“I would say Birmingham now because my highest Test score is there. So, Birmingham, my all-time favorite uh TV show is Peaky Blinders. So, Birmingham.”
Gill achieved his greatest Test cricket score of 269 in the first innings in the Birmingham Test, followed by 161 in the second. India prevailed by 336 runs. He remarked after thinking back on the unforgettable game:
“When I was in that moment, I felt I was so locked in that I didn’t realize it, only after we finished the match. And because it was our first time that we won on that ground, India had never won in Birmingham before that. So prior to that match, we had a press conference and a journalist asked me, what chances do you give yourself going into this match because India’s never won on this ground. To be able to tell him before the match, ‘That doesn’t matter, it’s my first time here, so let’s see how it goes.’ That’s how it went. So, it felt pretty amazing.”
In his 37 Test matches, Shubman Gill has amassed 2,647 runs at an average of 41.35, with nine hundreds and seven fifties.
“He was my dad’s favorite” – Shubman Gill opens up on his cricketing inspirations
Shubman Gill also mentioned senior batsman Virat Kohli and former cricket player Sachin Tendulkar as his heroes during the same discussion. According to the 26-year-old:
“I have had two idols. The first one was Sachin. He was my dad’s favorite, and I got into cricket because of him. He retired in 2013. Around 2011, 2012, 2013 was actually when I started to have real knowledge about cricket: like how the game works, more than just skill, like mental and tactical.”
Shubman Gill
“I loved watching Virat bhai, Virat Kohli, how he used to go about his business and just the sheer passion that he had for the game and the real hunger. Because passion and hunger is one thing; you can learn all the skills, all the technique, and all of that, but hunger is something that you can’t learn. Either you have it in you, or you don’t. And it was something that he had so much, and it really inspired me.”
Shubman Gill
Shubman will next be seen in action when India takes on Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday, September 14.
