Shubman Gill is not much of a talker. His replies can be irksomely short for interviewers, and commentators often have to almost goad him to speak longer during mid-innings or post-match conversations. When The Hindu meets him over a video call, he is seated like a shy schoolboy, reluctant to speak, greeting us with a silent half-smile.
Just an evening prior, however, the dynamic Gujarat Titans batter was screaming mid-air after smashing a sensational 49-ball century—his third of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season—against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Qualifier 2. That commanding innings, which ultimately culminated in a breathtaking 129 off 60 balls, has firmly pedestalled him as the heir apparent to Virat Kohli in the men’s Indian national cricket team batting line-up. Yet, despite the astronomical expectations and rapid ascent, Shubman remains remarkably grounded.
Downplaying the overwhelming adulations pouring in from all corners of the cricketing world, he maintains a stoic perspective. "People will always have something to say about you—good or bad. But I don’t let that affect me," he says.
Despite his natural modesty, he readily acknowledges the near-invincibility he felt while constructing that masterpiece of an innings against MI in Ahmedabad, a performance that single-handedly carried his franchise into the tournament’s summit clash. "It felt like I could not do any mistakes," he reflects. "I was completely in the zone. I felt like a superhero."
Stepping Into the Spider-Verse
As it turns out, feeling like a superhero was not limited to his exploits on the cricket field. Off the pitch, Shubman experienced a different kind of heroism by lending his voice to the highly anticipated animated feature Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel to the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
The film introduces audiences to a shared multiverse of alternate dimensions known as the "Spider-Verse," featuring a distinct Indian iteration of the iconic web-slinger named Pavitr Prabhakar. Shubman was tapped to voice the character of Pavitr, the Indian Spider-Man, for the Hindi-language version of the film ahead of its theatrical release.
For elite athletes, especially in India, media crossovers are hardly a novelty. Cricketers are regular fixtures in commercial ad films, and many enjoy consuming cinema in their downtime. Shubman himself is an avid film buff whose personal favorites include cinematic heavyweights like The Godfather trilogy and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. However, stepping out of the commercial space to voice-act a principal character in a major feature-length Hollywood animation project is an entirely different ballgame. It is a challenge that immediately piqued the young cricketer’s curiosity.
"You have to ask the makers why they chose me to voice the character, but they told me I was the first name that came to their mind," Shubman reveals. "I was excited when this opportunity came about. I knew it was going to be challenging because I’d never dubbed for a film. That was all the more reason for me to do it."
The allure of the craft lay in transformation and exploration—stepping outside the boundaries of his own well-known public persona. "The idea of being a character—to convince people of something that you are not—was fascinating. I wanted to experience how that feels. And it was interesting, because there were a few emotions that are less a part of my personality. It was difficult for me to show those emotions, especially the dramatic ones."
At the same time, finding a connection with Pavitr Prabhakar proved to be a surprisingly organic process. While certain dramatic beats required concerted effort, the core of the character felt remarkably familiar. "Eighty to eighty-five percent of Pavitr’s emotions, I could resonate with," he notes. "He’s fun, always up to something, and full of heart."
A Lifelong Fan Embraces the Legacy
There was also a deeply personal, nostalgic motivation behind his decision to jump headfirst into the project. Long before he was facing down premier fast bowlers on international pitches or hitting centuries under the dazzling lights of IPL stadiums, Shubman was a young boy captivated by the mythology of Spider-Man.
"I like many superheroes, but Spider-Man is close to my heart because it’s one of the first few movies I watched," he shares. "I watched it on TV with my family when I was about six years old. So, I’ve been a big fan of Spider-Man ever since."
Curious about which specific iteration formed the bedrock of his childhood fandom, we ask if it was the iconic Tobey Maguire portrayal directed by Sam Raimi.
A bright spark of recognition crosses his face. "Yes," he says with a definitive nod. "For me, Tobey Maguire is the OG Spider-Man!"
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