WTC 2023 Final: India stalwart Virat Kohli has revealed the influence he had on Shubman Gill’s ascent to stardom and says the young opener is ready to deliver in the ICC World Test Championship Final against Australia. Over the last year, Gill has been growing in prominence in all three forms of the game. The 23-year-old scored a record-breaking ODI double-century against New Zealand at the beginning of the year, and he then had an outstanding Indian Premier League season that netted three centuries and 890 runs.
Since Gill arrived at the the national setup, Kohli said he has taken him under his wing and is pleased to see the young batsman start to put it all together at the top of the order. “He (Gill) speaks to me a lot about the game, is very keen to learn and has an amazing skill set at his age,” Kohli told the ICC. “He has got an amazing ability and a temperament to perform at the highest level and is confident and we do have that relationship and we do have that understanding based upon respect.”
Despite having two hundreds to his record after 15 Test matches, Gill has yet to fully demonstrate his true skill against the red ball. According to Kohli, the talented batter will score soon, perhaps as soon as this week when they face Australia in the World Test Championship Final at The Oval.
“I am keen to help him grow and really understand his potential and come into his own so that he can play for a long time and perform consistently and India cricket gets benefited,” Kohli said.
“These tags of king and prince and all of that kind of thing are great for the public and spectators to see, but I think the job of any senior player is to help improve the youngsters and give them the insight you have had throughout your career.
“As long as a guy is keen to learn like him he is going to be fine as he wants to learn how to do this for a long time at the highest level and perform consistently. He is a lovely kid and he is playing amazingly well and I wish he continues the same in this Test match.”
For the match in south London that starts on Wednesday, seasoned captain Rohit Sharma will bat with Gill at the top of the order, and the veteran is convinced he will perform. “The way he is batting at the moment, I don’t think he needs any advice,” Rohit said. “He is a batter who likes to bat and likes to spend a lot of time in the middle.”
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