'He wants to be next Virat Kohli' - Suresh Raina's massive remark for Shubman Gill ahead of World Cup 2023

Indian batting sensation Shubman Gill is in the form of his life as he’s the leading run scorer in ODIs in 2023. The 24-year-old recently finished as the highest run scorer of the Asia Cup 2023 having 302 runs to his name. Heading into the World Cup, Gill will be one of India’s main batters and will be expected to do the bulk of the scoring at the top of the order.

Ahead of the mega event, the Punjab-born cricketer has got special praise from former India batter and 2011 World Cup winner Suresh Raina. Raina touted him as one of the most important players for the team in the World Cup and expects him to emulate Rohit Sharma’s impressive run from the 2019 edition.

“He'll be one of the most important players at the World Cup. I know that he wants to be a superstar and wants to be the next Virat Kohli and is in that aura already and after this World Cup, we will be talking about him more often. What Rohit Sharma did in the 2019 World Cup; Gill could do the same for India this year. He'll get 50 overs to bat, so it's a takeoff point for his batting,” said Raina on JioCinema’s ‘Home of the Blues – India Heroes.

Notably, Rohit Sharma finished as the highest run scorer of the 2019 World Cup with 648 runs to his name from nine innings at an average of 81 and a strike rate of 98.33 with five hundreds and one fifty to his name.

Gill became the seventh male batter to score 200 in ODIs

Meanwhile, in 2023, Gill has scored 1052 runs in 18 innings in ODIs so far at an average of 70.03 and a strike rate of 104.05 with four hundred and four fifties to his name. He also became just the seventh male cricketer to score a double hundred (208) in the fifty-over format vs New Zealand in Hyderabad in January 2023. The opening batter will look to carry his exceptional form into the World Cup and help India lift their third title.

Also Check: ODI World Cup 2023 Schedule