With his stylish strokes and consistent output with the bat, Gujarat Titans' (GT) opening batter Shubman Gill has become the cynosure of all eyes. The elegant right-handed batter fired his franchise to yet another Indian Premier League (IPL) final and is currently gearing up to end the tournament in the same manner in which he has played throughout the season. Gill will be up against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final on May 28 (Sunday) at the Narendra Modi Stadium, a ground where the GT opener has tormented bowling attacks for fun this season.
Gill has already secured the Orange Cap this season with an aggregate of 851 runs in 16 matches. He is averaging 60.79 with the bat and has scored runs at a strike rate of 156.43. The right-handed batter has smashed four fifties and three centuries this season so far. He smashed an unforgettable century against Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 that ultimately rolled out GT's road to the final.
Looking at the evolution of Gill, former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris heaped praise on the GT batter and slammed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for making the biggest blunder in IPL history. KKR had parted ways with Gill before the latter joined GT last season.
"I still believe that his release from KKR will go down as the biggest blunder a franchise has made. The only other one was KL Rahul from RCB. However, there is age advantage here. Gill is still a very young man, he has got a lot of growth in his game," Styris said on JioCinema.
"He can not only be the star for this GT star, especially after the next World Cup, he will be the backbone of this Indian side. And I think he will embrace that," he added.
In the last two seasons with GT, Gill has scored more than 1,300 runs in 32 matches with the help of eight half-centuries and three centuries.
Styris compared Gill to a young Virat Kohli and opined that the GT batter seems to be in total control of his game at the moment.
"We have seen the evolution of Baby GOAT, from his KKR days to now in GT. He was getting starts, and out of nowhere, he would get out. But he is converting those. He has made the adjustments to his game. He has taken the responsibility, he is happy to be the mainstay of this batting line-up. And he is looking like Virat Kohli back in the day as well, in the sense that he is in total control of his game. He is not having to thrash the ball or go after the bowling. He just hits the bad ball," Styris said.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
IPL 2023 Final, CSK vs GT: What happens if rain plays spoilsport on reserve day, which team will win the title? Know complete scenario
Incessant rain spoils Blockbuster Sunday as IPL 2023 final postponed to reserve day, here are all details as per rules
