WTC Final, IND vs AUS: 'King' Kohli lauds 'Prince' Shubman Gill's eagerness to learn; says keen to help him
Virat Kohli feels Shubman Gill could be among runs in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, starting at The Oval from Wednesday.
FollowPlaying down titles like "king" and "prince," Virat Kohli said on Tuesday that he is eager to assist Shubman Gill, who is seen as the former captain's heir apparent, in "growing and understanding his potential" for the good of Indian cricket.
The 23-year-old batting phenom Gill, who has been well-known in all three formats of the game over the past 12 months, and Kohli frequently speak, according to Kohli, who also noted that both players respect one another.
The young India and Gujarat Titans opener is being tipped for higher accomplishments following a record-breaking IPL season with Gujarat Titans, whereby Gill concluded with 890 runs, the second most for any batter after Kohli's 973 runs in 2016.
"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."
Gill, who has already scored a double century in one ODI and dominated the IPL with up to three centuries in his last five games, has also amassed two hundreds from 15 Test outings.
In the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, which will begin at The Oval on Wednesday, Kohli believes he may be in the running.
"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 (that) you have had throughout your career," the batting icon added.
"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," Kohli said.
Skipper Rohit Sharma will partner Gill at the top of India's batting order in the WTC final.
