Kapil Dev reacts to Shubnam Gill’s 129 runs amid GT vs MI Playoff

Kapil Dev reacts to Shubnam Gill’s 129 runs amid GT vs MI
Playoff

Notwithstanding his reaction for Gill’s strokeplay, Kapil Dev doesn’t want to put him in the bracket of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli as yet.

As per Kapil Dev, India’s1983 World Cup-winning captain, Gujarat Titans opener Shubman Gill needs to have a couple of more seasons like this in order to be considered a great.

All said it is a matter of pride that Shubman Gill has the world at his feet now. Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Rohit Sharma, Ian Bishop – the whose who of world cricket are falling short of words in describing the kind of form Gill has shown in IPL 2023.

With 851 runs in 16 matches including three centuries, Gill is only the third cricketer after Virat Kohli and Jos Buttler to notch up more than 800 runs in a single edition of the IPL.

Add to that centuries in all three formats and over thousand runs in the last six months in international cricket.

Gill’s staggering accomplishments and moreover, the class and ease with which he scored those runs have naturally got the cricketing world making big predictions on the 23-year-old. But not Kapil Dev.

Although highly impressed by Gill’s strokeplay, Kapil Dev doesn’t want to put him in the bracket of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli yet. India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain said the Gujarat Titans opener needs to have a couple of more seasons like this in order to be considered a great.

“Sunil Gavaskar came, Sachin Tendulkar came, then Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag Virat Kohli and now with the kind of batting he is showing, it appears that Shubman Gill is following their footsteps. But I will like to give him another season before making big claims. He definitely has the talent but won’t like to make big comparisons right now.

“He needs to have one more season like this before we can say he is the next in line after Gavaskar, Sachin and Kohli. Bowleers get to know your strengths and weaknesses after one or two good seasons. But if you have three or four good seasons then we can say he is truly great,” Kapil told ABP News.

Gill hit a blistering 129 of 60 balls to help GT beat MI by 62 runs and enter their second successive IPL final. The defending champions will meet four-time winners Chennai Super Kings in the final on Sunday and Gill is again likely to play a pivotal role.

Kapil gave Vinod Kambli’s example and said Gill’s real test will be when his purple patch gets over. The legendary all-rounder said he wants to see how the right-handed opener reacts and handles himself when his runs dry up at the highest level and bowlers figure out where to bowl at him.

“This is a purple patch for Shubman Gill. We have to see how long can he continue like this. It will be interesting to see how he comes back when there’s a dip after scoring so many runs. Look at Suryakumar Yadav. After glorious seasons, he made three golden ducks and then again he came back strongly. You rate these players highly. So I’d be very keen to see how Gill bounces back when his purple patch finishes. He has all the qualities His biggest strength is that he doesn’t appear to be in a hurry even when boundaries are not coming. He has all the shots.

Meanwhile Kapil also quoted not to get him wrong, he has no doubts in his abilities. However, sans making comparisons, he would like to talk on one cricketer,Vinod Kambli, who probably had an even better start to his international career.

So the biggest question in front of Gill now will be that will he be able to handle himself? Cope with all the attention and fame that he will be getting at this young age.

Notably, former India cricketer Kambli had a terrific start to his Test career smashing two double centuries but his career nosedived due to off-the-field controversies.

News input KV Raman