Travis Head names young Indian batter who ‘makes bowling look slow’, predicts him to be ‘an absolute freak’

Australia's destructive opener Travis Head who scored a century against India in finals of World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023 has picked Shubman Gill as the country's next super star.
 

While Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood and Alex Carey picked Yashasvi Jaiswal as the next rising star, Head said that Gill will be ‘an absolute freak’. 
 

"Some of his (Gill's) innings I have seen. He makes bowling look slow. Plays off the front and back foot well, plays spin well. Shubman is gonna be an absolute freak,” Head replied when asked about the next big thing in Indian cricket in a video posted by Star Sports Tamil. 
 

Gill and Jaiswal’s numbers

Gill has had a good record in Tests against Australia. He has scored 44 runs from 11 innings at an average of 44.40 including a century and two fifties. He scored 91 runs in the iconic Gabba run chase.

On the other hand, Jaiswal is yet to face Australia. The left-handed batter averages 68.53 with 1,028 runs from nine Tests including three centuries and four fifties. His strike rate of 70.07 makes him an X-factor as well.

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Head doesn’t see India as favourites

Earlier, Head had also expressed that India are not favourites to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy despite their dominance in the last decade including two consecutive series win on Australian soil. 
 

“I don't feel like they're my favourite. I just feel like we play them enough, play them lots. And, I guess the last couple of years I've been in nice form. So yeah, being able to, to play well, it's always nice,” the 30-year-old said.

 

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"I guess it's not hard to get up for the contest. It's hugely competitive. Yeah, it's easier to get up for the game. So I wouldn't say they're my favourite. They're extremely difficult but it's been nice to play well in a couple of games and looking forward to preparing well and being ready to go and let's look, hope hopefully I can, I can contribute to what's a successful summer for us," the southpaw added.
 

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