How Shubman Gill redefines gangland Punjab narrative with a cricket bat

From the heart of Malwa in Punjab, a star was born in fair England this week. Not for him the signature AK-47 rifle or action guns or gangland violence that has become synonymous with this part of the country. Instead, you could accuse the dimpling Shubman Gill, 24, of using his cricket bat to undertake a rapier cut-and-thrust to rewrite the records with back-to-back centuries.

What’s more, history has been made with Gill’s leadership of a young, largely untested squad. No Virat or Rohit or Bumrah, but mainly Akash Deep, Siraj and Prasidh Krishna.

India’s newest Test captain hails from Chak Jaimal Singh Wala, a village in Fazilka district — a semi-arid zone infamous for gang wars, drug smuggling, farmer suicides, and cancer deaths. Within a 50-kilometre radius — spanning Fazilka, Muktsar, Moga and Faridkot — Punjab has birthed some of its most feared gangsters over the past two decades.

These men aren’t petty criminals, but Category A gangsters who have spawned a roll call of terror. Lawrence Bishnoi from Duttaranwali, Dimpy Chandbhan — the state’s first modern gangster — from Chandbhan, Shera Khuban from Khuban, Rocky from Jhuggian, Vicky Gounder from Sarawan and Devinder Bambiha from Bambiha village in Moga.

Ironically, many of these boys were landlords with over 30 acres of land before they took to crime. Some — like Shera, Bambiha, and Gounder — were even promising athletes before fate took a darker turn.

That’s why Shubman Gill’s rise and rise is more than a sporting triumph — it may even become a cultural shift. His success offers a powerful counter-narrative to the stereotype that Punjabi youth are either migrating abroad, or are addicted to drugs, or viscerally drawn into crime.

Ajay Pal Singh Brar, founder of Misl-Satluj Punjab, an organisation devoted to addressing regional issues, told The Tribune that Gill’s victory is not personal, but a victory for a state desperate for victories.

“Punjab is known for its hyper-masculinity, especially in this 50-km belt in Malwa which has in recent years become infamous for gangsters like Dimpy Chandbhan and Lawrence Bishnoi. Gill has shown what happens when that same energy is channelled positively, with family support and a strong cricketing culture, things can change,” Brar said.

A senior police officer who deals with organised crime, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity, pointed out that Punjab has been desperately searching for heroes like Shubman Gill. Unlike religiously inclined radicals with a penchant for politics or wastrels consumed with the desire for the good life, Gill’s clean and athletic good looks, a veritable Adonis in a black compression shirt, is like manna for parched earth.

“For years, the youth of this region have been branded as misled. Films like ‘Udta Punjab’ only reinforced that image. Gill embodies a new kind of hero, one who can embody progressive masculinity with humility,” the police officer said.

Still, Gill is not exactly a trail-blazer, even though he’s already become Punjab’s heart-beat hero. Harmanpreet Kaur, captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, hails from Moga — she is leading a historic T20 series in England and her team is on the brink of first series win on English soil. It’s not difficult to forget that Moga doesn’t even have a proper cricket ground.

Then there’s Harmanpreet Singh, who as captain of the men’s hockey team, led India to a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He hails from Timmowal, Amritsar.

Together, these athletes are helping reshape Punjab’s narrative, one record at a time.

Punjab