Virat Kohli showered praise on his teammate Shubman Gill ahead of the World Test Championship Final 2023 on Tuesday, June 6. Gill's recent rapid emergence in international cricket is pushing Indian fans to compare the youngster with a well-established figure like Kohli. But the senior batter has put aside the comparisons and is looking to play a crucial role in Gill's improvement.
India and Australia will clash in the WTC Final 2023 at The Oval starting on June 7. Both Kohli and Gill will be playing a crucial role in the biggest Test match of the year. The duo was recently spotted together in the stands at the FA Cup final as they share a strong bond off the pitch. Kohli revealed that the youngster always speaks with him regarding the game and has the temperament to perform at the highest level.
"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."
Kohli has amazing numbers against Australia, having recently registered his highest score of 186 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023. On the other hand, Gill is yet to make a considerable impact in red-ball cricket as he has in white-ball format. But Kohli believes that Gill will score runs in the longest format of the game and he is looking to help the youngster to reach his potential.
"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 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.
Gill has impressive numbers against Australia with one century and two fifties in five Tests so far. He enjoyed a sensational IPL 2023 season to further raise fans' expectations ahead of the WTC final.
