Shubman is better than what I was at 19: Kohli
India defeated New Zealand by seven wickets in the third ODI to seal the five-match series. There are two more matches left and India will look to earn a clean sweep. Post the match, Indian skipper Virat Kohli heaped praise on teenager Shubman Gill. Kohli dropped a hint that Gill is likely to make his debut soon. Here is what Kohli said.
"Shubman is a very exciting talent, I saw him bat in the nets and I was like wow I was not even ten percent of that when I was 19. So, that's the confidence that they carry and it's great for Indian cricket," said Kohli.
Gill was drafted into the squad as KL Rahul's replacement, after the latter and Pandya were suspended for their comments on a chat show. And now with Kohli being handed a rest, Gill is likely to make his debut in the fourth ODI against the Kiwis. Notably, last year, Gill had finished as the highest run-scorer for India in the ICC U-19 World Cup.
In nine first class career matches, Gill has scored 1,089 runs at an average of 77.78. The youngster bagged his top score of 268 against Tamil Nadu last month in the Ranji Trophy. It was followed by 148 against Hyderabad. Gill, who has three hundreds and seven fifties in first class cricket, caught the eye of Kohli during training sessions.
Gill could replace Kohli at number three for the last two ODIs. The youngster, who is a top order player, also batted at number seven for KKR in IPL11. Gill will try to get off a strong start to book a ticket to England. About youngsters, Kohli said, "We are more than happy to give them chances and provide them the space to grow."
The future of Indian cricket looks bright. Gill is another promising player in the ranks. The likes of Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw and Khaleel Ahmed have already impressed the management and Gill is expected to follow their footsteps.
