Shubman Gill and Kane Williamson
Shubman Gill and Kane Williamson. Image Credits: Twitter

Former South African batter, AB de Villiers has highly praised young Indian batter, Shubman Gill and reckoned he will complement Kane Williamson in the batting lineup of Gujarat Titans (GT). While Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 will kick off with the opening game between defending champions GT and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Veteran Royal Challengers Banglore (RCB) batter thinks Gill to be an experienced campaigner, even though he is still young. Earlier former New Zealand skipper, Williamson praised the Indian opening batter as a “strong competitor” with a “great understanding of the game” in his latest statement.

Shubman Gill and Kane Williamson
Shubman Gill and Kane Williamson. Image Credits: Twitter

Ab de Villiers praised GT’s star batters, Shubman Gill and Kane Williamson-

“Kane Williamson is an absolute rockstar player. Very underrated when it comes to T20 cricket. Everyone thinks that he plays slow, run-a-ball and then he ups it.

“I feel he can be a glue of any batting line-up and still go on and score at 170-180 batting strike rate,” said former SA skipper.

After an IPL to forget in 2022 for a star ‘Black Caps’ batter, after Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) finished in the 8th spot, Williamson will now be playing for GT in the 16th edition since playing for SRH from 2016 onwards.

“I think Kane can just play his natural game, get himself in and then ultimately take them down. If the rest of the line-up falls around him, he is the perfect guy to take those guys to the 20th over. And that’s going to be his role,” he further added.

New Zealand star Kane was in fine form in Tests with a stunning double century against Sri Lanka in the second Test at Wellington.

“Shubman Gill is one of those very talented players up the order that can complement someone like Kane Williamson. Shubman has come a very long way with his cricket and is almost like an experienced campaigner now even though he is still young,” stated the former RCB star.

Shubman has been in the purple patch of his career–and he has done a fine job as an opener so far. He has been in red-hot form for India in all three formats. In Test cricket, he scored 736 runs in 13 matches at an average of 32.

“He has got all the shots in his book. He is quite a tall opening batsman, strong and beats the ball in the V upfront. He has got all the shots required to take games away from teams but I also feel that he has the mind to think about the game and is a smart cricketer. The IPL 2023 is going to be a good one for him,” concluded ABD.

Gill has been hailed from all over the world for his recent performances in the International circuit. He recently scored the ton in the Ahmedabad Test against Australia.

While in IPL 2023, Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), GT vs CSK, will clash in the opening game of the 16th edition of the league on March 31 (Friday) at Ahmedabad.

Also read: IPL 2023: “Shubman Gill Is A Really Strong Competitor, I Am Sure He Will…” – Kane Williamson