Ahead of the 12th match of the ongoing IPL 2020 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday (September 30), former New Zealand cricketer and renowned commentator Simon Doull has made a big prediction for the young KKR star Shubman Gill.
Gill has attracted everyone’s attention with his talent ever since he came out of an incredible U-19 World Cup campaign two years ago and since then, everyone is just praising this talented cricketer.
The 21-year-old has already made his international debut for India last year and played two ODIs so far, though, he couldn’t make a big impact. But continued to grab the headlines with his talent with the bat in the domestic cricket including the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In the ongoing 13th edition of the IPL 2020, the right-hander has been promoted to the top of the order, though, he failed to grab the opportunity in the KKR’s first IPL 2020 match against Mumbai Indians, scoring 7 runs in team’s 49-runs defeat, but took the opportunity with both hands in their next game.
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In the 8th game of the IPL 13, Gill played a matured innings of an unbeaten 70 off 62 to help KKR win their first game in the ongoing season by 7 wickets against SRH on 26 September.
Following the youngster’s Man of the Match show, Doull hailed Gill's maturity while saying that the Punjab star will be an IPL captain in the next two years.
Doull told Cricbuzz about Gill’s superb knock against SRH: “It was a perfect score for Shubman to get into this tournament. He didn’t score much in the first match. He needed a score to get started and when you are chasing only 143, you could play your natural game. It will hold him in good stead moving forward. In the match against SRH, he timed the innings superbly. He needed to be there and show the maturity that he can bat through and win for his team.”
He further added, “I think Eoin Morgan had the best ally on the other end in Shubman. So, the experience and calm nature of Morgan was supported well by the youthful exuberance of Shubman. He kept his head in place and I think it was a very very fine innings.”
Meanwhile, Doull said he wouldn’t be surprised if Gill will be leading an IPL side at the ripe age of 22-23, saying working a lot with the likes of KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik, England captain Eoin Morgan and head coach and former NZ skipper Brendon McCullum will help him to learn things about the leadership.
He signed off by saying, “I won’t be surprised if we see him leading an IPL side two years down the line at the ripe age of 22-23. I think he should spend a lot of time with Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan and pick their brains. He also has Brendon McCullum, one of the most innovative captains in the last 7-9 years. I think he can learn a lot if he is around these guys.”
