Dubai, Feb. 20 -- Shubman Gill, deemed to be the "prince" of Indian cricket, has genuinely started to relish the responsibility of being the next pillar as stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have their last dance in the international circuit.

During India's Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh in Dubai, Gill's unbeaten 101(129) served as a testament and reminder for all his critics, who questioned the amount of faith the Indian management invested in him after a shambolic tour in Australia.

Last month, Gill's place in the Indian setup came up for debate after he returned from Australia. He had a meagre 93 runs to his name in five innings at an appalling average of 18.60, with 31 being his best score.

He understood the need to...