Champion. Genius. Legend, Master. In order to describe their affiliation with some of the best batsmen in cricket history, MRF bat stickers have employed a variety of terms. They stayed with "Genius" the longest. Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Brian Lara all used that on their MRF-sponsored bats. The top batters of the generation have been signed by MRF in the past. It was historic when they selected Shubman Gill to continue the tradition.
“With legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and Brian Lara having graced the iconic MRF bat, Shubman Gill now carries forward this tradition, inspiring the next generation of cricketers" - MRF wrote while announcing the collaboration before the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year.
The purists cast a sidelong glance at the Gill-MRF connection as the batter's bat sticker has made headlines again. This time, as a result of the writing that accompanied MRF Genius. Netizens zoomed in to see the word "Prince" written on Gill's bat after the BCCI published images of him on social media.
Gill was given the title "Prince" because he was viewed as a future superstar, but some fans did not like that he used it on his bat sticker. Although it was unclear who made the choice to include Prince and Genius in the bat sticker — Gill or MRF — it certainly caught people's attention.
More so since, despite being affectionately referred to by fans as "God," Sachin Tendulkar never used the word on his bat sticker. Virat Kohli did not include "King" on his bat sticker either. Brian Lara and AB de Villiers are no different. Lara was actually the first person in cricket to be referred to as a Prince.
In Gill's bat sticker, the word "Prince" is notably not new. Though it was first used during the IPL, it didn't gain any traction until Gill took Rohit Sharma's position as India's new Test captain.
Gill encouraged his team to "find out their game" and play "every ball with purpose" in his first speech as captain. "Let us make each and every net session meaningful and let us prepare like that and let us put ourselves under a little bit of pressure when we are going out there. It is not about going out there and surviving. Let us try to find out our game, how we are going to play when we are put under pressure, whether it be bowlers or batsmen. And let us make the practice match and each and every net very meaningful and let us play every ball with purpose," he concluded.
The series will take place from June to August, with matches scheduled to be played at Headingley, Edgbaston, Lord's, The Oval, and Old Trafford.
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