Erling Haaland, the Norwegian footballer who leads Manchester City’s lineup, recently met Indian Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill and handed the Indian star a signed pair of football boots.
Shubman Gill, the Indian cricketer who has seen a remarkable rise in the last year of the game, has risen to prominence after being handed the captaincy of the Indian team across the Test and ODI formats.
Though Gill has had a successful season in the red-ball format, he has not been able to convince all with his white-ball dominance. He has been snubbed from the ICC T20 World Cup squad for India, which was a huge setback for the youngster, as this would be the second consecutive time he is not part of India’s T20 World Cup squad.
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Recently, Shubman Gill met one of the greatest football sensations of modern-day 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, the Manchester City star Erling Haaland signed a pair of boots for the Indian prince of cricket, while on the other hand, Shubman too exchanged gifts with the Norwegian football star.
Shubman Gill meets Erling Haaland. 😍
– Haaland gifted his signed football Boots to Indian Captain. pic.twitter.com/yae3gYDxXh
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 2, 2026
Shubman Gill to undergo rapid growth and adjustment
Irfan Pathan referred to the times when he first broke into the Indian team as a teenager, and the legendary Rahul Dravid helped him through tougher times and helped him get through.
Gill would now have to undergo the process of adjustment, particularly after being handed leadership duties at such a young age.
“The same can be said for Gill. He became captain in that England series; he increased his average and authority within the team. Then he got the ODI captaincy; when that happens, you get an opportunity to grow a lot,” he added.
“The more responsibility and challenges he gets, he will grow more as a cricketer,” said Irfan Pathan
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan put his weight behind Indian youngster Shubman Gill, who has been handed leadership responsibilities early on in his career. He also remarked that for a talented player like him, comparisons are pretty common, since India has a generational legacy in the game.
“He has a lot of talent. There will always be comparisons. Virat was compared with Sachin (Tendulkar), and now Gill is being compared to Virat, who has scored those 25,000–30,000 runs. I think he is fully capable of it. He has a fine range of shots,” Pathan said.
“The more responsibility and challenges he gets, he will grow more as a cricketer. I have seen that he is always ready for cricket. Always willing to learn. He has that attitude in him,” Pathan largely praised Gill.
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