"The way he batted throughout the 2023 season in all formats of the game" - Sunil Gavaskar picks India's breakout performer of the year

Sunil Gavaskar has picked Shubman Gill as the breakout performer for the Indian men's team in 2023.

Gill was at his prolific best in ODI cricket last year, amassing 1584 runs in 29 innings at an average of 63.36 and a strike rate of 105.45. However, he did not have a great year in Tests and T20Is, scoring 258 and 312 runs at averages of 28.67 and 26.00 respectively.

On the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Gavaskar was asked to pick the Indian player who stunned everyone with his performances in 2023, to which he responded:

"Breakout performer, I would imagine would be Shubman Gill for the way he batted throughout the 2023 season in all formats of the game. Test cricket, at the start, he was unstoppable."

While acknowledging that Gill didn't deliver up to expectations in the last few Tests of the year, the former India skipper was particularly appreciative of his performances in white-ball cricket, saying:

"Towards the end, he tapered off in Test cricket but the ODI and T20 performances were exceptional. So he would be the breakout performer as far as the men's team is concerned."

Apart from his exploits in international cricket, Gill was the highest run-scorer in IPL 2023. The Gujarat Titans opener smashed 890 runs, the second-most runs in an IPL season, in 17 innings at an excellent strike rate of 157.80 to win the Orange Cap.

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"Shubman Gill's year was a huge positive" - Irfan Pathan on India's breakout performer

Shubman Gill struck seven centuries across formats in international cricket in 2023. [P/C: BCCI]

Irfan Pathan too picked Shubman Gill as the breakout performer of the year, reasoning:

"Shubman Gill, especially in ODI cricket. The way this year was for a young boy in ODI cricket, who is probably the future of the Indian team. I feel he has a huge leadership future as well. Considering that, Shubman Gill's year was a huge positive."

The former all-rounder was particularly delighted with the youngster's performances in ODI cricket, stating:

"It was a breakout year for Shubman Gill because he struck a sequence of centuries, his average was amazing and it seems like ODI cricket perfectly suits him. When a young player has such an amazing year, you say India's future is very bright."

Gill struck five ODI centuries, including a double hundred, apart from nine half-centuries in 2023. However, he failed to reach the three-figure mark in the World Cup, with a 92-run knock against Sri Lanka being his best effort.