Shubman Gill meets Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland, the Norwegian footballer who leads the Manchester City team, recently met Indian Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill and presented the Indian star with a signed pair of football boots.

Shubman Gill, the Indian cricketer who has seen a remarkable rise in the last year of the game, rose to prominence after being named captain of the Indian team in both Test and ODI formats.

Although Gill had a successful season in the red ball format, he failed to convince everyone with his dominance on the white ball. He was snubbed from India’s ICC T20 World Cup squad, which was a huge setback for the youngster as it would be the second time in a row that he was not part of India’s T20 World Cup squad.

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Recently, Shubman Gill met one of the biggest sensations in modern football, Erling Haaland, who plays for Manchester City in the English Premier League (EPL). The Indian captain has met Ed Sheeran and Kevin de Bruyne in the last 9 months.

During their recent meeting, Manchester City star Erling Haaland signed a pair of boots for the Indian cricket prince, while Shubman also exchanged gifts with the Norwegian football star.

Shubman Gill meets Erling Haaland. 😍

– Haaland gifted his signed football boots to the Indian captain. pic.twitter.com/yae3gYDxXh

—Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 2, 2026

Shubman Gill will experience rapid growth and adjustment

Irfan Pathan spoke about the time when he broke into the Indian team as a teenager, and the legendary Rahul Dravid helped him through tougher times and helped him out.

Gill would now have to undergo a process of adaptation, particularly after being given managerial 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 his authority within the team. Then he got the ODI captaincy; when that happens, you get the opportunity to grow a lot,” he added.

“The more responsibilities and challenges he gets, the more he will grow as a cricketer,” Irfan Pathan said.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan threw his weight behind young Indian Shubman Gill, who was given leadership responsibilities early in his career. He also noted that for a talented player like him, comparisons are quite common as India has a generational legacy in the game.

“He is very talented. There will always be comparisons. Virat has been compared to Sachin (Tendulkar), and now Gill is compared to Virat, who scored those 25,000-30,000 runs. I think he is quite capable of it. He has a great shot range,” Pathan said.

“The more responsibilities and challenges he gets, he will grow more as a cricketer. I have seen that he is always ready for cricket. Always ready to learn. He has that attitude in him,” Pathan praised Gill extensively.

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