Football's goal machine met up with cricket's run machine in a crossover for the ages early in the new year. Manchester City's Erling Haaland and India captain Shubman Gill met at a Nike event. The duo sporting white Nike kits exchanged pleasantries and the video of their meeting has since gone viral.
Haaland then surprised Gill with a pair of boots. The Norwegian ace signed the shoes for the Indian captain who looked visibly in awe.
This is not Gill's first meeting with the Manchester City ace. Back in 2023, the Gujarat Titans star had travelled to watch the FA Cup Final between Man City and Manchester United alongside Virat Kohli.
He had even had a guided tour of the Etihad Stadium, and met Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne during their treble celebrations. Gill was in the UK at the time having featured in the 2023 World Test Championship Final loss to Australia.
2025 was a year of extreme highs and lows for Shubman Gill. He finished the year with most runs in international cricket, and took over as Test and ODI captain from Rohit Sharma.
However, the year ended in dissapointment after he missed out on selection from the T20 World Cup 2026. Gill was vice-captain and part of the team until the squad was announced for he tournament.
He will begin 2026 playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy with Punjab, before a return for the IND vs NZ ODI series starting January 11.
