Zimbabwe cricketer Brad Evans brought Shubman Gill’s jersey to the post-match press conference after the three-match ODI series. Evans narrated how big a fan he is of the stylish right-handed batter.
He further told that why is he a fan of Gill and how he was awestruck to see Gill play against him. When asked about whether Shubman Gill was the biggest factor in deciding the series, Evans said, “Yeah for sure (he was one of the factors in deciding the series) Going into the series, I was one of his biggest fans, that’s why I got his shirt and now I’m playing against him. He is a world-class player.”
“Even from the first game, you could just tell… For example, when he gets a single, he hits it hard exactly where he intends to. That’s a skill and it comes after years of practice. I just sometimes watch him in awe ‘this guy is so good.’ That’s a reason I’m a fan. I watched him on TV in the IPL and in Australia when they won that Test series… That’s a reason I’m a fan. To play against him was awesome,” he added.
When asked about the particular moment when Gill gifted his shirt, Evans said that he had requested Gill to do a jersey exchange ahead of the start of the final ODI.
“I was just walking back (after that match). I just gave him my shirt. He took his shirt off and gave it to me. It was quite quick. I had actually asked him in the morning if we could change shirts and he agreed. He’s a nice guy,” added Evans.
Evans, had a great outing against India in the third and final ODI of the series in Harare on Monday. He picked his maiden five-wicket haul as he dismissed stand-in captain KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Deepak Hooda, Shardul Thakur and also the top-scorer Shubman Gill. Evans had a memorable day not only because he returned with starring match figure of 5/54 but also got a special gift from his favourite India batter Gill.
The 22-year-old, Gill slammed his maiden ODI hundred, including 15 fours and one maximum which helped India to score 289 on eight wickets before Zimbabwe fell short of 13 runs in the run chase.
From the host nation’s side, Sikandar Raza gave a tough fight to India as he scored 115 off 95 balls. Along with him, Evans also made a useful contribution of 28 off 36. His partnership of 104 runs with Sikandar Raza took the match to the last over but Zimbabwe fell short of the 290-run target.
Get the latest Cricket News, Schedule and Cricket Live Scores here