Gary Kirsten backs Shubman Gill, says 'unfair to compare him to Kohli, Tendulkar so early’

Ahead of the World Test Championship final, former India coach Gary Kirsten has come out in support of 23-year-old Shubman Gill.

In an interview with Cricbuzz, Kirsten stated that drawing comparisons between legends like Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and youngster Shubman Gill would be unfair at such an early stage of his career.

Kirsten has worked closely with all three players. Sachin and Virat played under the South African when he coached Team India, meanwhile, Gill and Kirsten are connected through the IPL franchise Gujarat Titans.

Praising Gill’s talent, Kirsten said, ‘He is a young player who has incredible skill and determination to be one of the best players in the world.’

The 55-year-old went on to add that Gill is one of the rare players who holds the ability to play well across all three formats of the game.

‘I believe he has the game to successfully play across all three formats for India. You don't often see that, these days, particularly as T20 cricket is developing and progressing so fast.’

Playing for India in 2023, Shubman Gill scored a century in all three formats as well as 3 tons in IPL this year.

While the Punjab-born cricketer has been climbing through the ranks consistently, Kirsten was asked what changed in his batting come 2023.

The GT batting coach listed three things about the opener that helped him take his playing to another level, ‘First, his confidence and self- belief in knowing what he is capable of. Second is his work ethic and professionalism around how he prepares for the games. And finally, his game sense and how he puts a performance together with his skill sets.’

Shubman Gill is currently in England along with the rest of Team India as the Men in Blue get ready to take on Australia in the World Test Championship Final starting June 7.