"These boys have just started playing for India and they should enjoy their cricket," said Tendulkar.
Both Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill have captured the cricket-crazy country's imagination with their immense potential. Now, Sachin Tendulkar has shared his thoughts on the duo.
Both Shaw and Gill played pivotal roles in India's triumphant Under-19 World Cup campaign in New Zealand last year. Shaw was the captain of the team and finished with 261 runs from 5 innings while Gill was adjudged Player of the Tournament after scoring one century and three half-centuries. Following that tournament it didn't take long for both to make headway into the senior squad.
Shaw was rushed into the international Test arena opening the batting in the series against the Windies last year and he didn't fail to impress. He became the youngest Indian (18 years and 329 days old) to score a century on debut when he smashed a 99-ball 100 at Rajkot. Shaw was also included in the squad for India's tour of Australia but the youngster missed that series after injuring his ankle in a warm-up game.
Gill on the other hand earned his maiden call-up to the senior squad in the recently concluded series in New Zealand. He entered the team on the back of a fruitful Ranji season where he scored 728 runs in 9 innings at a stunning average of 104.00. Gill however faced testing conditions in New Zealand and returned with scores of 9 and 7 in his two outings.
Tendulkar, who made his international debut at 16 against Pakistan, has shared his thoughts on these talented youngsters. Speaking to TimesofIndia.com, Tendulkar said: "I’ve spoken about Prithvi earlier as well, having watched him bat in the nets as a little boy, all of 8-9 years of age, he had something special even back then. I knew instantly that he would play for India. Shubman also played a crucial role in last year’s U-19 World Cup and has had a good domestic season, so both of them (Prthivi and Shubman) have a lot of potential. Having said that, these boys have just started playing for India and they should enjoy their cricket," Tendulkar said.
While Shaw is still recovering from his injured ankle, Gill is with the senior squad which is engaged in a three-match T20I series in New Zealand. Gill wasn't included in the playing XI for the first T20 match which India lost by 80 runs but he is expected to play a role in the remaining games.
