"He has touch, class, and elegance like Rohit Sharma"- Ramiz Raja heaps praise on Shubman Gill

Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja recently heaped praise on young Indian batter Shubman Gill after his consistent performances across formats.

Gill has impressed everyone with his magnificent batting exploits over the past year. Since the beginning of January 2023, he has played 17 matches across the three formats of the game in international cricket and scored 980 runs at an average of 61.25, including five centuries.

Gill also hit his maiden ODI double-century against New Zealand. He has carried his international form into the IPL 2023 as he already has two half-centuries for Gujarat Titans in four games.

Since Shubman Gill debuted in 2018 his IPL scoring rate (7.6rpo) ranks 15/18 among regular opening batters in the #TATAIPL. However, his false shot percentage - 11.2% - ranks 1/58. At 23, Gill is finding the sweet spot between scoring and control - but his control is world class.

Speaking in a video on his official YouTube channel, Ramiz Raja analyzed Shubman Gill's recent performances after his match-winning fifty against Punjab Kings and said:

"He has so much potential and has so much time while playing shots. He looks so naturally beautiful when he bats. When he drives, there's a curve on the shot. He has a lot of time to play his strokes. It doesn't matter if he scores on the offside or on-side, whether he hooks or pulls. It's just so beautiful and neat and clean."

Drawing parallels between Shubman Gill's potential and style of play with that of Indian stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Raja added:

"Many predict that he could be the next best batsman after Virat Kohli. He has touch, class, and elegance like Rohit Sharma. And his temperament is quite strong. From Tests, ODIs, and T20Is as well, he has tormented the bowlers. When you see him, it seems the time has stopped. At such a young age, he already has records. Sky is the limit for him."

Shubman Gill will be back on the field on April 16 as GT take on RR

Defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) have begun the new season well by winning three out of their four matches so far. Their only loss was due to a mind-blowing finish from KKR's Rinku Singh, who hit five sixes in the final over. They will next face the Rajasthan Royals on April 16, Sunday, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.