"We are not giving him the status of 'Prince' wrongly" - Aakash Chopra on Shubman Gill having scored more centuries than Rohit and Kohli since 2020
Aakash Chopra reckons Shubman Gill has rightly been given the sobriquet 'Prince'. He noted that the youngster has scored the most international centuries for India since 2020, more than all-time greats like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
India completed a 280-run annihilation of Bangladesh in the first Test in Chennai on Sunday, September 22. Gill, who was dismissed for a duck in India's first innings, scored an unbeaten 119 off 176 deliveries in the second essay.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted Gill's international century record in the last few years suggests that he is deservedly being called the batting heir to Kohli.
"Who has scored the most hundreds for Team India in this decade? It's a very interesting one. There was a tweet from CricCrazyJohns, and we said we never realized that. He wrote about the most hundreds for India in this decade in international cricket - Shubman Gill has 12 hundreds in 114 innings. It is absolutely phenomenal," he said (4:35).
"Rohit Sharma, in the same timeframe, has played 148 knocks and scored 10 centuries. Virat Kohli has played 149 knocks and scored 10 centuries and both of them are our GOATs (greatest of all times). So Shubman Gill is going far ahead with 12 centuries. We are not giving him the status of 'Prince' wrongly," the former India opener added.
Gill's unbeaten 119-run knock was his second successive century in back-to-back Tests. The stylish batter scored 110 runs off 150 deliveries in India's innings victory in the final Test against England in Dharamsala in March this year.
"I am saying this guy is running towards greatness" - Aakash Chopra on Shubman Gill
In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that Shubman Gill is destined for greatness.
"He has it in his DNA. I am saying this guy is running towards greatness because he feels, actually he is convinced, that if he puts his mind to matter, greatness beckons. It is a very good story for Indian cricket," he said (5:40).
Gill has aggregated 1,611 runs, including five centuries, at an average of 37.46 in 26 Tests. He has smashed 578 runs at an average of 30.42 and a strike rate of 139.27 in 21 T20Is, with an unbeaten 126 against New Zealand being his only international hundred in the shortest format.
The 25-year-old has been most at home in ODIs. He has amassed 2,328 runs, including six centuries at an average of 58.20 and a strike rate of 101.74 in 47 ODIs.