"He has his own persona"- Harbhajan Singh explains difference in batting style of Shubman Gill & Virat Kohli
Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh opined that while star batters Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli have both been prolific of late, there is a marked difference to the way they play their shots and approach their game.
Many believe Gill is the one who is taking Kohli's legacy forward. But Harbhajan feels the youngster has his own set of qualities that make him unique. He shed light on how elegant Gill looks when he plays his shots. While aggression gets the best out of Kohli, Harbhajan reckons staying calm at the crease helps Gill.
Speaking to Star Sports after the game between the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the Gujarat Titans (GT), here's what Harbhajan Singh had to say about Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli:
"Shubman Gill constructs his innings brilliantly. He has his own persona and possesses that lazy elegance, unlike intense Virat Kohli. He can play all kinds of shots with ease just like Kohli, but he won't appear as aggressive as Kohli with his body language. He is a different character. He's such a prospective talent for India."
Virat Kohli's century against GT more special: Sanjay Manjrekar
Before notching up a ton against GT, Virat Kohli had also scored a hundred against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in his previous game. However, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Gavaskar feels the innings on Sunday, May 21, was something special.
Manjrekar shed light on how tough the situation was and also spoke about how Kohli had to deal with a quality bowling attack. He stated:
"This century from Kohli is more special than the previous one because the bowling attack of Gujarat Titans was far superior to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Kohli also batted almost single-handedly in a pressure match and took his team to a respectable total."
Harbhajan Singh also joined in and praised Kohli for backing his proper cricketing shots. He added:
"You never see Virat Kohli play risky shots, he always looks to play in the 'V'. He has proper cricketing shots and that is why he's such a great batter. Kohli is a proper batter and he can play any format of the game be it Tests, T20s or even T10s because of the supreme technique."
Although RCB's IPL 2023 season is done with, fans will hope that Kohli continues his stunning form for India at the World Test Championship (WTC) final in about a couple of weeks' time.