CHENNAI: Chak Khere Wala, close to the India-Pakistan border, is not even a speck on the map of India. It would have remained just another nondescript village of India's vast hinterland if not for one individual – Shubman Gill. When the newly-anointed India captain walks in the India blazer to toss the coin against England in the first Test at Leeds on Friday (June 20), the village would enter into the folklore of Indian cricket.
This is where Gill’s cricketing journey began as a three-year-old with a wooden bat carved out of a tree trunk made by his grandfather. Gill's grandparents – Sardar Didar Singh Gill and Gurmail – still live in the house surrounded by acres of farmland. The small stretch of concrete that was built to make Gill bat and the kitchen walls still stand as a testimony to his early toil as a batter.
Didar, who is nearing 90, did not want to speak. He, however, was happy and proud to show around the house and Gills’ mementos and plaques. Most of the trophies have been shifted to Mohali but the ones that remained were the 2018 U19 World Cup to the recent Champions Trophy.
Gill and his father may have shifted to Mohali when he was just seven but the cricketer has not forgotten about the village. A small distance away from the Gills’ is the Jaimal Wala Academy. Gill had donated `3.5 lakh which was used to build the nets and buy equipment. “We have about 15-20 students and there are more new admissions coming,” says Gurpreet Singh, who runs the academy. “Construction of practice nets completed on Friday. Whenever Lakhwinder chacha visits, he spends time with the kids and guides them in training,” he adds.
Meanwhile, the Fazilka District Cricket Association secretary Surinder Chindi, too, cannot hide his happiness. They are building a new stadium to honour Shubman in Bahmani Wala village. “Since Shubman came up, a lot of academies have come into the area. More than 100 children gather every evening to play, both boys and girls. The ground construction is just starting. Soon, grass will be laid,” says Chindi. “We had screenings for the Champions Trophy when Shubman played. For someone to be born here and go and play for India, it doesn’t happen easily,” he adds.
Expect another screening and celebration come Friday when Shubman leads Indian cricket into a new era in England.
