Virat Kohli is his favourite batsman and fitness icon, and he loves adventure sports. Shubman Gill. The U-19 World Cup 2018 man of the tournament and the player of match in the finals, is now a KKR boy. t2 caught up with him on cricket, his IPL debut and more.

Congratulations on your splendid performance in the Under-19 World Cup. Was it the best belated birthday (September 8) gift you have ever got ?

I think in the past three-four years, I’ve been playing matches on all my birthdays. And fortunately, I’d been getting really good runs on my birthday too! So the last time, we were in Patiala and all my friends celebrated it with a win, so that is really the best gift they could have given me.

Can you recall the night of the U-19 win?

It was a great night. We all celebrated it… all of us were dancing. We were there in the dressing room till three in the morning.

Did you get to see much of New Zealand on the World Cup tour?

Thanks to our management, we went almost everywhere! We went on motorbikes and skyboards. We weren’t allowed to do extreme sports like bungee jumping but except that, we went everywhere.

Are you a fan of extreme sports?

Yeah, I am quite interested (laughs). I really want to do bungee jumping because it was like the world’s second highest or something… the one in New Zealand. I really wanted to do that!

Since when has cricket been your passion?

I started playing cricket when I was around four. I never really thought about anything other than cricket.

You have spoken a lot about Rahul Dravid, your U-19 coach. Have you had a chance to talk to him after IPL happened?

When we were coming back to India, he had a one-on-one talk with all of us where he spent around 30 minutes with each of us, so it was a really good talk.

What tips has he given you?

He just said to go out there and express ourselves. There is nothing to be worried about or nothing that we haven’t prepared for.... He said, ‘you will get really good practice at the camp, especially the exposure you will get with the international players, it will be really good’.

Have you followed IPL?

I have been following it from 2011-12.

What does playing for KKR mean?

It means a lot, you know. Representing such a huge campaign, such a great team… it is an honour for me. And I really did not expect that I would be a part of such a huge team and such a huge campaign.

Shah Rukh Khan is your boss!

I haven’t really met him yet but I hope I will meet him soon for a get-together or something. And I am a really big fan of his.

Who is your favourite actor?

My favourite actors are Shah Rukh Sir and Ranveer Singh.

What is your favourite Shah Rukh Khan dialogue?

My favourite is from Don (2006). (‘Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahi, namumkin hai,’ we prompt). Yeah, that one because I was a kid when I saw that movie with my father.

And your favourite SRK film?

Don.

Playing at Eden Gardens will be...

I think it will be great. I have been to Eden Gardens and the ground is great and seeing the stands filled with people is electrifying. I am really, really looking forward to it.

Which is your favourite SRK song?

All the songs from Chennai Express.
 
Favourite actress?

Deepika Padukone.

You are just 18. What else is there on the dream list?

My dream list keeps changing from time to time. Right now, my dream list would be this IPL season. Once this gets over, it will be the other chances that I will be getting — might be India A, might be something else. So yeah it varies from season to season.
 
How soon do you see yourself in the India senior jersey?

I don’t know… it depends on this IPL season really! If I do well this IPL, they might consider me for India A. If I do well in India A, then who knows!

Favourite film?

Padmaavat.

Who are your cricketing idols?

When I started playing cricket, my cricketing idol was Sachin Sir (Sachin Tendulkar). I really tried to copy him. Now, I really admire Virat Kohli because of his on-field and off-field attitude, the way he changed the trend of the Indian cricket team... the fitness and fielding levels. I really admire him. He is my favourite batsman and fitness icon.
 
Have you met Virat Kohli?

I have only met him twice... once at the BCCI Awards in 2015 but I didn’t really get to talk to him because they were flying to Australia and he was getting the award for the senior team (Polly Umrigar Award) and I for the junior (Best U-16 cricketer of 2014-15). So he just congratulated me. That’s it.
 
What’s your fitness routine?

All our schedules and routines are sent to us by our BCCI trainers and physios. So we have to follow that.