"Too Early": Kapil Dev On Shubman Gill's Comparison With Greats Of Indian Cricket

Former India captain Kapil Dev feels that Shubman Gill needs to perform consistently in two to three more IPL seasons to be included in the list of great players. Gill is in red-hot form in the ongoing IPL having already scored 851 runs at an average of 60 plus and a strike rate of over 150. While many cricket experts and analysts have started comparing the youngster with the likes of Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil feels that it is too early to give that stature to Gill.

"Sunil Gavaskar came, Sachin Tendulkar came, then Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli and now with the kind of batting he is showing, it appears that Shubman Gill is following their footsteps. But I will like to give him another season (before making big claims). He definitely has the talent and ability but he needs more maturity," Kapil said in an interaction with ABP News.

"If he plays another season like this, there is no doubt that he too could be included in the list of great players. But I would not like to take him to that league currently. Maybe he needs to give one more year. It's too early (to say)," added the former India skipper.

Gill has scored three centuries in IPL 2023. He is close to Virat Kohli's record (973 runs) of scoring most runs in a single edition of the T20 tournament.

"If you play such cricket for around three seasons, then maturiy comes and your talent is also tested. Bowlers get to know your strengths and weaknesses by then. If Gill could tackle that then I can say that he is a great player or could become a great player," said Kapil.