Virat Kohli has said that he will be helping Shubman Gill so that India gets another star performer who would last long in future.
London: A potential heir to Virat Kohli, the former India captain is ready to help Shubman Gill to grow for the benefit of Indian cricket in future. Gill has shot to fame recently after his bat did most of the talking in the past 12 months across all formats.
Gill is coming into the World Test Championship (WTC) final on the back of a brilliant Indian Premier League season with Gujarat Titans where he amassed 890 runs with three centuries to his name.
Kohli reiterated that he communicates with the 23-year-old batting sensation a lot. “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 on Tuesday.
“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.”
Gill scored his maiden Test hundred against Bangladesh last year before scoring his second in 15 games in Ahmedabad just before IPL 2023, that too against Australia. Kohli expects Gill to be among runs in the WTC 2023 final against Australia that starts on June 7.
“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.
“I think the job of any senior player is to help improve the youngsters and give them the insight (that) you have had throughout your career,” added Kohli about Gill who will be opening tge batting for India alongside Rohit Sharma.
“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,” he added.