India captain Shubman Gill (AP Photo/Manish Swaroop)

Shubman GillThe remarkable purple patch continued on Wednesday as the India captain produced another batting masterclass, earning high praise Sunil Gavaskar After India’s emphatic ODI series win over Afghanistan in Lucknow.Gill has enjoyed great form over the last three weeks, scoring runs across all formats and competitions. The 26-year-old started the order with a brilliant century for Gujarat Titans against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 and registered his 11th Test century in the one-off Test against Afghanistan. He followed this with an unbeaten 85 in the rain-affected ODI in Dharamshala and a brilliant 154 in Lucknow, leading India to a spectacular victory.The latest innings came in challenging conditions and helped India post a mammoth total of 402 runs. Gill made a match-defining partnership of 224 runs. Ishan KishanThe pair, who scored 125 runs, completely took the game away from Afghanistan.Speaking on Geostar’s ‘Cricket Live’ show, Gavaskar said that Gill’s success with the bat is also having a positive impact on his captaincy.“When you’re not scoring, you’re not confident about making those marginal moves that come from your gut, like stopping a bowler who has bowled well, giving him an extra over, or taking the fielder out of a certain spot. That gut feeling is much stronger when you’re performing individually. But if you’re not performing, even when you have that gut feeling, you’re afraid of making that call because you’re afraid of being wrong.” Are worried about. Since you are not performing well even as a player, you will also be criticized for your captaincy,” Gavaskar said.While Gill and Kishan grabbed the headlines with the bat, India’s young fast bowlers also played a key role in securing the win. Afghanistan were all out for 232 runs, with fast bowlers Gurnoor Brar and Prince Yadav taking five wickets together.Gavaskar was particularly impressed by Brar’s performance, praising both his bowling rhythm and his ability to unsettle the batsmen with sharp bounce.“His run-up is very good, his rhythm is very good, he was hitting the deck and taking the ball up. The wicket he took of Gurbaz was particularly impressive because of the way the bouncers chased him. It is very accurate. It comes right at you, exactly where the batsman doesn’t want it. I think the selection committee deserves all the congratulations. If you look at his stats, or his India A performances, they are okay, but not to the extent where you would say he deserved an India cap. However, the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar saw something in him and hence selected him. He also has the support of the management, which is very important,” said the former India captain.India’s all-round performance secured a 170-run win and gave them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series, with Gill’s stellar form being one of the biggest positives for the team.