Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh make it to Indian team for ICC U-19 World Cup

After becoming the fourth youngest player for Punjab to hit a first class century in Ranji Trophy, Mohali youngster 18-year-old Shubman Gill was named as the vice-captain of the Indian U-19 team for the ICC U-19 World Cup

Shubham and Arshdeep Singh

A week after he became the fourth youngest player for Punjab to hit a first class century in Ranji Trophy, Mohali youngster 18-year-old Shubman Gill was named as the vice-captain of the Indian U-19 team for the ICC U-19 World Cup to be played in New Zealand in January next year. Gill will don the responsibility of vice-captain for the Prithvi Shaw-led 16-member team which also has Chandigarh cricketer medium-pacer 18-year-old Arshdeep Singh.

“It is a new path. Being named as vice-captain of the Indian U-19 team for the ICC U-19 World Cup is a different feeling. I am currently in Mumbai where we played Challenger Trophy and we will join the camp on December 7. Becoming the fourth youngest centurion for Punjab in Ranji Trophy last month meant a lot for me. Harbhajan Singh paji boosted my confidence during the match. Our Punjab coach Ajay Ratra too has been a motivational force. Bagging the man of the series award in England earlier this year also meant a lot to me,” said Gill, who had scored 278 runs in four ODI games, including a century during England tour in August.

Son of agriculturist Lakhwinder Singh and Kirat Gill, who shifted to Mohali from their village, Jaimal Singh Wala, near Jalalabad in 2007, Gill bagged the best U-16 cricketer BCCI award in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 and scored 1018 runs in U-16 Vijay Merchant trophy in 2014-15, followed by more than 500 runs in Cooch Behar Trophy last year. In 2014, Gill had made a world record 587-run partnership along with Nirmal Singh in Punjab U-16 tournament. A side sprain meant that the youngster missed Punjab’s opening matches in Ranji Trophy before he played a knock of 129 against Services in Amritsar last month.

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“He was little disappointed to miss Punjab’s opening matches but watched the matches at PCA Stadium. When he scored his first century in Amritsar, I drove from our village to Amritsar to watch him bat,” said 46-year-old Lakhwinder Singh, who is also the coach of his son.
Left-arm medium pacer 6 feet and two inches tall Arshdeep Singh, who started playing cricket five years ago under coach Jaswant Rai at GNPS School, Sector 36, claimed 13 wickets in Vinoo Mankad Trophy for Punjab apart from claiming 19 wickets in five matches for Chandigarh in Punjab Inter-District ODI Championship for DP Azad Trophy this year. Arshdeep also played for India Red in Challenger trophy this week where he picked up seven wickets, including a five-wicket haul. “The call-up to the Indian u-19 team means a lot. I have been aiming for this berth for the last two years and when my teammates told me about the selection, I called my mother Baljit Kaur. During the challenger trophy, I also clocked bowling at a speed of 140 kph and I am sure I can bowl better on New Zealand pitches,” said Singh.

Arshdeep’s father 54-year-old Darshan Singh works as chief security officer in DCM factory in Ropar and it was celebration time for the family at Kharar on Sunday. “I played cricket at U-16 level for Punjab and could not continue due to job. Arshdeep always wanted to be a medium-pacer and he has achieved what I could not. His elder brother works in Canada and they also celebrated his selection in Canada this morning,” said Darshan Singh.

Nitin Sharma

Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story ‘Harmans of Moga’, Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women’s cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin’s interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More