India stalwart Virat Kohli has expressed his confidence in the young opener Shubman Gill’s ability to excel in the highly-anticipated ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia, commences on Wednesday.
Gill has shot to prominence in all three formats of the game over the last 12 months. The 23-year-old’s exceptional performances include a record-breaking ODI double-century against New Zealand earlier this year.
Moreover, the youngster had an impressive Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign where he scored three centuries and amassed a total of 890 runs.
Kohli said the young opener possesses remarkable talent and a temperament that allows him to excel at the highest level of the game at his age.
“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,” he added.
Despite having two centuries to his name from 15 Test matches, Shubman Gill is still in the process of fully showcasing his skills with the red ball.
“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 things 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,” the former skipper added.
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