London, June 6 (UNI) India stalwart Virat Kohli has revealed the impact he has had on the emergence of rising star Shubman Gill and believes the young opener is primed to perform
well in the ICC World Test Championship Final against Australia.
Gill has shot to prominence in all three formats of the game over the last 12 months, with the
23-year-old scoring a record-breaking ODI double-century against New Zealand at the start of
the year and then producing a superb Indian Premier League that netted three centuries and
890 runs.
Kohli said he has taken Gill under his wing since the right-hander arrived in the national setup
and is proud to see the young gun start to put it all together at the of the order.
"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
said.
Gill is yet to really show his full prowess against the red ball, despite the fact he already has two centuries to his name from 15 Test matches.
Kohli believes the runs will come soon for the talented batter and they could come as quickly as
this week against the Australia in the World Test Championship Final at The Oval.
"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," he said.
"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 said.
"He is a lovely kid and he is playing amazingly well and I wish he continues the same in this Test match," Kohli added.
Experienced skipper Rohit Sharma will partner Gill at the top of India's batting order for the south London clash that commences on Wednesday and the veteran is also confident he will perform.
"The way he is batting at the moment, I don't think he needs any advice," Rohit said. "He is a batter who likes to bat and likes to spend a lot of time in the middle.”
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