Virat Kohli dissects ‘King and Prince’ tags while heaping praise on young batting sensation ahead of WTC Final
Virat Kohli, India (Source: Twitter)
It’s only a number, age. Shubman Gill, India’s opening batsman, is only 23 years old but is competing to become one of the greats. Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar handed the torch to Virat Kohli years ago, and now Gill is poised to carry on Kohli’s legacy and cement his domination across all formats for years to come. The ‘Prince’ of Indian cricket is referred to as Gill, as opposed to the former captain of India, who is regarded as ‘King Kohli’.
On and off the pitch, the two have a unique affinity with one another. Kohli talked openly about his friendship with Gill before the World Test Championship (WTC) final match against Australia and commended the young player for his outstanding performance. In response to the titles “King” and “Prince,” Kohli said that although these terms are admirable to the general public, it is the duty of an elder to help younger people.
“These tags of king and prince and all of that kind of thing are great for the public and spectators to see, but I think the job of any senior player is to help improve the youngsters and give them the insight you have had throughout your career. As long as a guy is keen to learn like him he is going to be fine,” said Kohli.
‘Very keen to learn and has an amazing skill set’ – Virat Kohli on Shubman Gill
Along with other Indian athletes, Kohli and Gill are in London for the second edition of the WTC final preparations. When Rohit Sharma and company play Australia at the Oval, London, on June 7, both will be essential to India’s first Test Championship victory. Before the big match, Kohli told the Cricket Governing Body that Gill had the talent and temperament to succeed at the greatest level.
“He (Gill) speaks to me a lot about the game, is very keen to learn, and has an amazing skill set at his age. He has got an amazing ability and a temperament to perform at the highest level and is confident and we do have that relationship and we do have that understanding based upon respect,” said Kohli.
“I am keen to help him grow and really understand his potential and come into his own so that he can play for a long time and perform consistently and India cricket gets benefited. He is a lovely kid and he is playing amazingly well and I wish he continues the same in this Test match,” the 34-year-old added.
