Shubman Gill on cusp of becoming 2nd fastest batter in the world to taste this mighty feat heading into IND vs AFG 1st ODI

Shubman Gill will be seen spearheading Team India in a historic first-ever bilateral ODI series against Afghanistan. As he steps onto the field for the series opener this Saturday, June 13, at the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala, Shubman Gill will not only be focused on leading his side to victory but will also be eyeing a towering ODI milestone.

47 runs more & Shubman Gill become fastest batter to reach 3000 ODI runs

The flamboyant right-handed opener is just 43 runs shy of etching his name into the record books. If he manages to reach this target, Gill will officially become the second-fastest batter in the history of the sport to breach the 3,000-run mark in One Day Internationals. Having made his ODI debut against New Zealand in January 2019, he has currently amassed 2,953 runs across 61 innings.

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Should he achieve the feat in Dharamsala, Gill will easily surpass several international and national benchmarks. While the overall world record remains safely with South African legend Hashim Amla—who incredibly reached 3,000 runs in just 57 innings, Gill is poised to overtake the current runners-up. At present, Shai Hope, Fakhar Zaman, and Imam-ul-Haq share the second spot, having all taken 67 innings to reach the landmark. Furthermore, Gill will shatter the current Indian record held by veteran left-hander Shikhar Dhawan, who stands as the fastest national batter to achieve the milestone in 72 innings.

Rohit, Kuldeep too have sights set on big records

Alongside Gill, veteran stars Rohit Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav are also on the cusp of rewriting the record books in the upcoming series opener against Afghanistan.

For Rohit Sharma, overtaking a cricketing legend is a matter of just a single scoring stroke. The prolific opener needs a mere three runs to eclipse South African great Jacques Kallis on the all-time ODI run-scorers list. While Kallis accumulated his 11,579 runs over an illustrious career spanning 328 matches, Rohit is poised to pass that total in significantly fewer games, currently sitting at 11,577 runs from 282 ODIs.

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Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav is approaching an elite bowling landmark of his own. The premier left-arm wrist-spinner has dismantled batting lineups to claim 194 wickets in 120 ODIs so far, leaving him just six scalps away from breaching the coveted 200-wicket mark in the 50-over format.

If the Kanpur-born spinner manages to pull off a spectacular six-wicket haul in the opening fixture, he will become the second-fastest Indian bowler in history to reach 200 ODI wickets in terms of innings. He would sit second only to pace sensation Mohammed Shami, who holds the national record by capturing his 200th wicket in just 104 matches.