3 times Virat Kohli lavished praise on Shubman Gill

Team India batters Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill are often referred to as the ‘king’ and ‘prince’ of cricket. Playing down the tags, Kohli told ICC ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final that his role as a senior player is to help improve youngsters and give them insights by sharing his experience.

He admitted that he has taken Gill under his wing and is trying to help him learn and improve. Praising the young gun, Kohli said that he has got an amazing ability and a temperament to perform at the highest level.

The former Indian skipper added that he is keen for Gill to grow so that he can realize his potential and play for a long time and perform consistently to benefit Indian cricket.

This is not the first time Kohli has lavished praise on the young Indian batter. As both Gill and Kohli prepare for the WTC final against Australia at The Oval, we revisit three previous instances when the former Indian captain spoke highly of the opening batter.

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#1 “I was not even ten percent of that when I was 19” - Kohli on Gill

Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill are often referred to as ‘king’ and ‘prince’. (Pic: Getty Images)

Gill made his international debut during India’s tour of New Zealand in 2019. Kohli was Team India's captain at that time and made a massive statement after watching the youngster bat in the nets.

He was quoted as saying by PTI:

“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. That’s the confidence that they carry and it is great for Indian cricket if the standard keeps going up and the guys coming in can make impact performances straight away and we would be more than happy to give them the chances and help them grow.”

Gill registered scores of 9 and 7 in the two ODIs he played on the New Zealand tour. Over the last year, though, he has gone on to cement his place in all three formats with some spectacular batting efforts.

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#2 Kohli all praise for Gill after the latter’s maiden IPL ton

Shubman Gill notched up three hundreds in IPL 2023. (Pic: Getty Images)

Gill had an exceptional Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season for Gujarat Titans (GT). He was the Orange Cap winner for hammering 890 runs in 17 matches at an average of 59.33, with three hundreds and four fifties.

The 23-year-old’s maiden IPL ton was registered in the league match against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. GT were sent into bat after losing the toss and Gill made Hyderabad rue their decision hammering a dominant 101 off 58 balls.

The right-handed batter’s knock featured 13 fours and a six as Gujarat Titans posted 188/9.

Reacting to Gill’s special effort, Kohli took to Instagram and share a story with the caption:

“There’s potential and then there’s gill. Go on and lead the next generation. God bless you.”

Kohli shared the post with a star emoji. Meanwhile, Gill went on to smash 104* off 52 balls against Kohli’s franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

A screen grab of Virat Kohli’s Instagram story.

Kohli, himself scored a hundred in the game, but it was in vain as Gill’s ton knocked RCB out of the IPL. The GT opener also scored 129 off 60 against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Qualifier 2, confirming a berth for his franchise in the final.

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#3 When Kohli termed Gill ‘the future’

The 23-year-old has registered hundreds in all three formats. (Pic: Getty Images)

Former India captain Kohli also hailed Gill after the latter notched up his maiden T20I ton against New Zealand in February this year. In the third and deciding match of the series, Gill stood up and delivered, smacking a brilliant 126 not out off only 63 balls.

The young right-handed batter’s terrific innings saw him hit 12 fours and as many as seven sixes. Team India batted first in the game and posted a massive 234/4 courtesy of Gill’s exploits.

In response, New Zealand were bundled out for 66 as the Men in Blue registered a thumping 168-run triumph.

Reacting to the fantastic batting effort, Kohli shared an Instagram story and referred to Gill as a "Sitara" (star). In the same story, he wrote "the future is here".

Having made his debut for India in 2019, Gill has so far featured in 15 Tests, 24 ODIs, and six T20Is. The in-form batter has already notched up seven international tons.