• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Cant Produce A Virat Kohli Every Time Ex Opener On Shubman Gills Lean Patch

'Can't Produce A Virat Kohli Every Time', Ex-Opener On Shubman Gill's Lean Patch

image-lqxhswqeShubman Gill [AP]

Former Indian cricketer Kris Srikkanth believes that Shubman Gill needs to start scoring runs consistently away from home in order to validate the hype he gets from fans and the cricket fraternity. 

Shubman Gill's white-ball performances for India have been outstanding, but his Test numbers outside India lack the same brilliance. Here's what Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel: 

“Shubman Gill has to perform well across the world. Scoring runs in the sub-continent alone doesn't help. He has to score runs overseas.” 

Srikkanth drew parallels between cricket legend Virat Kohli and pointed out that while Shubman Gill can't replicate Kohli, he should aim to match his consistent run-scoring prowess across formats. 

The former Indian cricketer added: 

“Why are we calling Virat Kohli the King? Look at his record, even in the last year, be it Test matches, ODI or T20Is. Just look at his records. I have nothing more to say. Yes, I accept you can't produce a Virat Kohli every time. Everybody can't be producing Virat Kohli (Kohli-like numbers). But you have to try and get to at least a bit of that stature.” 

Shubman Gill is often touted as the heir to Virat Kohli, but Kris Srikkanth doesn't buy into the hype. He's cautious, not wanting to exaggerate or underestimate Gill's potential going forward. 

"I think the hype around Shubman Gill, quite a few are saying 'he is the next this, next that'. I think we will have to wait and see. I wouldn't overrate him, I wouldn't want to underestimate him." 

After a disappointing performance in the first Test against South Africa at Centurion, the focus will be squarely on Shubman Gill, who is slated to open alongside captain Rohit Sharma in the second test at Cape Town.