Dubai: For years, Ram Vilas Shah, a migrant worker from Kushinagar, in the Uttar Pradesh, has sold fruit juice on his Rehri (Cart) outside Porte 1 of the IS Bindra stadium in Mohali. His daily customers were a young striker by the name of Shubman Gill and his father Lakhwinder, who would stop for a glass of Mosambi juice. Ram Vilas’ son Avinash Kumar was a quick and ground launcher behind the Mohali stadium.One day in 2014, Lakhwinder spotted Avinash near the cart and asked questions about his father. “I said to him: ‘Paaji, I left the cricket. I work in a photo studio. Today, I’m here because my father is not doing well’,” recalls Avinash in a conversation with Timesofindia.com.
“I played a cricket after my father asked one of the ACP coaches. I am two years old in Shubman. I was a quick launcher but I left the cricket because of our family’s financial constraints,” he explains.A few months later, Lakhwinder spotted Avinash in his father’s cart and energized it for leaving the cricket.
The captain and the striker of India Shubman Gill (R) with Avinash Kumar. They have been together since the first days of Gill in Punjab cricket. (Image: special arrangement)
“Lakhwinder Paaji was angry. He told me that the cricket could change your family’s life. He was not satisfied with my decision to move away from the cricket, and was even more upset after I told him that I was working in a photo studio,” he said now.A week later, Lakhwinder showed Avinash a video of a side arm thrower and asked him to start practicing and taking the profession seriously.“I saw the video. Lakhwinder Paji helped me get an arm and I started mastering it,” he said.From this moment, Avinash’s friendship with Shubman Gill has strengthened.“I knew him from the academy. But now I have become his side arm launcher.Read also | ‘Shaant and Shaitaan’ – The story of Shubman Gill and Abhishek SharmaAvinash would win Rs 150 to 200 per day, but he has never taken a penny to Shubman or his father.“I was never used to taking money from Shubman’s father. He was my director of director. He gave me money during festivals like Holi and Diwali. He took me to the hospital and also helped my family whenever we were in need. I will always be grateful,” he said.Avinash remembers the first changes in Shubman’s stick.“Lakhwinder Paaji was angry each time Shubman played a shot. Shubman only struck in the V. It was only after the U-19 World Cup, followed by the IPL, that he started working on strikers,” he said.“It surprised me because he said:” What is the point of going out trying to score two additional points? I can strike the limits without taking risks. “But he realized that in T20, he needed to work on six strokes.
Avinash also explains how meticulous Gill’s preparations are.“He comes to each queue session with a goal. Even if he beats for three hours, he has the same intention. After the nets, he watches his videos, checks the areas where he is disturbed, watch his layoffs and the next day, he follows the same routine again, “he adds.In 2019, Avinash became a side arm launcher for the Punjab Ranji team and was instantly appreciated by senior pros like Mandeep Singh and Gurkeerat Mann, while binding with young people like Shubman, Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh and Anmolpreet Singh.
Captain of Gujarat Titans Shubman Gill in a first Indian Premier League cricket match (IPL) 2025. (PTI)
In 2024, jokingly, he told Shubman: ‘Yaar Ab tu Captain Ban Gaya, Mujhe Bhi Ipl le Chal’The words to ensure that Shubman gave him hope. “He told me that I didn’t need to worry.”Earlier this year, Avinash was playing with his newborn son in Chandigarh when he received a call from Shubman.“Shubman told me to make my luggage because I would soon receive a call from the management of Gujarat Titans. He offered me tips, clothes, mobiles – but it was something else. It was precious,” he recalls.Even before IPL 2025, Shubman’s eyes took place on the five test series against England. With Khushpreet Singh Aulakh, his mentor and his childhood friend, he also needed someone who could challenge him with the red ball. Avinash had the reputation of disturbing the punjab strikers during the Ranji seasons.
Shubman Gill (BCCI photo)
“It was the idea of Kp Paaji. He told Shubman to start training with the red ball during the IPL itself. Kp Paaji invested his whole life in Shubman. He worked tirelessly on him.“When I joined the Titans, Shubman asked me to challenge him to the net with the red ball. I started to do it. With the red ball, I make life difficult to strikers. With the white ball, the launchers give knocking confidence to strike, but with the red ball, it’s a battle, “said Avinash.Avinash leaned his back in the nets, and that helped Shubman Amass 754 Run in England.Avinash does not want a credit. “It’s all his hard work. I gave him so much bruises but he never complained. His father first, then KP Paji – these two did Shubman what he is today,” he said.“Maine Kya Kiya Bas Usko Karwayi (I only helped him with it). For what his father did for me and my family, I will always be indebted,” he said.In his father’s cart, meeting Shubman was a blessing for Avinash. He now considers the branchies his own family. In this cart, Shubman found not only juice – but a friend and a confidant for life.
