Former Australian cricketer and popular cricket pundit Dean Jones feels it’s time for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to let a young star of theirs show his full potential at the top and wants them to open the innings with him in the upcoming IPL 2020 to be played in UAE from September 19.

The youngster he is talking about is Shubman Gill, who has been doing great work as a finisher for them for the past two years. The talented India batsman was picked by the KKR in the 2018 IPL auction after a brilliant show in that year’s U19 World Cup, which India won.

He has tallied over 200 runs in both the last two seasons and has four half-centuries to his name.

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“I want to see Shubman Gill open the batting for Kolkata Knight Riders. I think there is an opportunity for it now and the time has come for them to put him at the top of the order and let him play,” Jones named him one of the players to watch out for this season.

KKR let go of Chris Lynn ahead of the IPL 2020 auction and have a space open at the top for Gill to take up, who is a natural opener. With the IPL set to be played on placid tracks in the UAE, KKR will benefit from having Gill at the top, as he has the ability to play through the innings at a good strike rate.

Apart from Gill, Jones also named Rishabh Pant as a player he will be looking out for in the upcoming IPL 13.

“I am also very keen to see how Rishabh Pant plays. He has been a bit up and down and it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of knowing that Dhoni is back playing,” Dean Jones told Hindustan Times.