He can carry forward the legacy set by Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar – Saba Karim on Shubman Gill

Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Saba Karim feels Shubman Gill has the potential to carry forward the legacy set by Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. Gill has got off to a dream start to his ODI career as he has scored four ODI centuries.

The youngster recently scored 208 runs off just 149 balls in the first ODI against New Zealand and became the youngest to score a double century in the format. Furthermore, Gill continued his purple patch as he scored 116 runs in the final ODI against the Kiwis.

Gill has amassed 1254 runs in 21 ODI matches at an average of 73.76 and a strike rate of 109.81. The 23-year-old scored 360 runs in three ODI match series against New Zealand and matched Babar Azam’s record of most runs in a bilateral three-match series. Earlier, Gill became the fastest Indian batter (19 innings) to reach the 1000-run mark in the 50-overs version.

Gill has shown all the potential to go a long way in his career and he has the right hunger. The Indian opener has grabbed his chance at the top of the order and he will look to continue the good show.

Speaking on India News, Karim said: “The temperament is good. He can carry forward the legacy set by Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. The biggest test is overseas conditions. Gill’s track in England wasn’t that good when he played Tests. We hope that he becomes the backbone of Indian batting.”

He added: “We are witnessing such a skill after a long time. In the future, we have to check how he performs against tough opponents. We have to test him in difficult conditions and quality pace bowlers, but the start has been phenomenal.”

Karim added Gill has a mature game and thus he can savor great success at the top level.

“There are a lot of things about Shubman Gill’s batting. He looks mature with the bat. By maturity, I mean game awareness, reading the game, playing different shots against bowlers, focusing on shot selection, how to run the scoreboard and complementing the partner when needed.”

India’s T20I squad against New Zealand: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Suryakumar Yadav (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Shaw, Mukesh Kumar.