India vs New Zealand 2019: "I Was Not Even Ten Percent Of Him When I Was 19 - Virat Kohli Hails Shubman Gill

Indian National Cricket team skipper Virat Kohli hads heaped high praise of youngster Shubman Gill saying that he was not even ten percent of him when he was 19 years old. Meanwhile, Gill came into the squad in place of then suspended KL Rahul.

The 19-year-old Gill first rose to prominence with his Player of the Tournament performance in the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup 2018, also held in New Zealand, where he played a crucial role in India’s title-winning run. He rapidly rose through the ranks since then and is now on the cusp of an India cap in just over a year since his first-class debut in November 2017. Doing well in the recent New Zealand tour of India A, it was an easy job for the selectors to consider him for the senior side.

Shubman Gill has been in prime form with the bat as well, having notched up scores of 91, 69*, 148 and 268 in his last five first-class games and averages 77.28 in nine matches. His List A average of 47.78 from 36 games, is also eye-catching, and his strike-rate of 86.18 in 50-over cricket and 146.04 in T20 proves that he is a quick scorer.

Kohli hails Shubman

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Virat Kohli shared his praise young Shubman Gill. So much so, he even said he was not percent as of Gill at this age. Kohli also mentioned about Prithvi Shaw saying that the confidence youngsters these days carry is great for Indian cricket. He also added that the senior cricketers are happy to give opportunities and space to grow.

“I think there are some outstanding talents. We saw Prithvi Shaw grab the opportunity with both hands. Shubman is a very exciting talent and 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, the standard keeps going up and the guys coming in can make those impact performances straightaway. And, we are more than happy to give them chances and provide them the space to grow,” Virat Kohli said.

Meanwhile, the men in blues have already sealed the series 3-0 against New Zealand with two matches still to go. The fourth match of the series will be at Hamilton on January 31.