"Shubman Gill can break both my records" - Brian Lara picks Indian star to overhaul his record of 400* and 501*
West Indian legend Brian Lara picked Indian star Shubman Gill as the batter to break his world records of 501* and 400*.
Lara remains the only cricketer to hit a quadruple century in Tests against England in 2004. His 400* being the world record for the highest Test score in international cricket.
He also holds the highest individual score in first-class cricket, scoring 501* in a County Championship match for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994.
Speaking to Anandabazar Patrika, Lara chose Gill as the best batter of this generation and felt the 24-year-old would break several records in his career.
"Shubman Gill can break both my records. Gill is the most talented batter in this new generation. He will rule cricket in the coming years. I believe he will go on to break many big records. He (Gill) can do it (break my records)," Lara said.
Brian Lara feels that with the scoring rates skyrocketing thanks to the numerous T20 Leagues, most batting records would get broken in the future.
"If Gill plays County cricket then he can break my 501*. In Test cricket, he can surely go past 400. Cricket has changed a lot, especially batting. Batters play t20 leagues across the globe. IPL has changed everything. The scoring rate has gone up. So you will keep seeing big scores. Shubman will score big, mark my words," Lara added.
While Shubman Gill has shown a propensity for massive scores in white-ball cricket, evidenced by his double century and century in ODIs and T20Is, he has struggled in the red-ball format. The 24-year-old averages only 32.20 in 18 Tests.
"He will win many ICC tournaments in the future" - Brian Lara on Shubman Gill
Brian Lara believes that Shubman Gill will win several ICC tournaments in the future, having just missed out on the recently concluded 2023 ODI World Cup.
Playing his first career World Cup, the stylish batter struggled to score a single century as he had been throughout the year. Yet, Gill managed respectable numbers of 354 runs in nine games at an average of 44.25 with four half-centuries during India's final run.
"Gill didn't score a century (in the World Cup) but look a the knocks he has already played. He has centuries in all formats, has smashed a double hundred in ODIs and has also played many match-winnings in the IPL. I'm sure he will many ICC tournaments in the future," Lara continued.
During India's World Cup outing against New Zealand in Dharamsala, Gill became the fastest to 2,000 ODI runs in just 38 innings.
The youngster boasts sensational overall ODI numbers, with an average of 61.37 and a strike rate of over 103 in 44 games, including six centuries