4 reasons why Shubman Gill is better than Virat Kohli was at the age of 19

Shubman Gill made the headlines during India's tour of New Zealand, when the teenager received his maiden Indian ODI cap. He took the place of Virat Kohli in the playing XI because the Indian captain was rested for the final 2 ODIs of the series.

Though Gill failed to impress in the 2 games he played, Virat Kohli heaped praises on the youngster by saying in an interview that he was not even 10 percent the player that Gill is at 19 years of age.

The fans who watched Gill playing for India in the ODI series against New Zealand might have felt that this was an exaggeration made by Kohli. However, in this article, we'll look at some reasons that support Kohli's statement -

#4 Shubman Gill performed better than Virat Kohli in the U-19 World Cup

Kohli too batted at no.3 for the Indian U-19 team in the 2008 U-19 World Cup

Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill both grabbed the eye-balls of the fans and selectors while representing the Indian team in the U-19 World Cup. However, if we compare the performance of both the batsmen, we will see that Gill actually performed way better than Kohli did in the U-19 World Cup.

The current Indian skipper had aggregated 235 runs at an average of 47 in the 2008 U-19 World Cup batting at no.3. On the other hand, Shubman Gill scored 418 runs in the 2018 U-19 World Cup at a superior average of 104.50. Also, Gill was adjudged the man of the tournament for his vital contributions which helped the Indian team win the U-19 World Cup.

Thus, in the first stage of their cricket careers, Shubman Gill emerged to be a better batsman than Kohli.

#3 Shubman's batting performances in his first IPL season were way better than Kohli's first season

Shubman Gill played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 11

Virat Kohli made his IPL debut in the year 2008, after Royal Challengers Bangalore snapped him up in the U-19 draft. Kohli played for the Bangalore franchise in 13 matches, where he amassed 165 runs. The Delhite could not score even a single 50+ score as his highest score in that season was just 38. Also, his 165 runs came at a poor strike-rate of 105.09.

On the contrary, Shubman Gill was picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 auction at a very expensive price and Gill made sure that he repaid his team owners' faith by performing well for the team. The right-handed batsman had a tally of 203 runs in his debut IPL season with a highest individual score of 57*. His strike rate of 146.04 was also significantly better than Kohli's 105.09 in his first IPL season.

#2 Shubman Gill's performances in his first 2 Ranji Trophy seasons

Virat Kohli could not perform well in his first Ranji season

If one may argue that the T20 format was not that popular amongst the players during Virat Kohli's time, then let us compare the statistics of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill's first 2 Ranji Trophy seasons. Ranji Trophy is considered as the elite domestic league of the country and so, a proper conclusion can be drawn from here.

Kohli had scored 630 runs for Delhi in the 11 Ranji Trophy matches he played for his state in his first 2 seasons. The current Indian captain had a poor outing in the first season but his performances in the 2nd season, where he played an innings of 169 runs sealed his place as the top young player of India.

Shubman Gill, playing for Punjab aggregated 973 runs in just the 7 matches he played in his first 2 seasons. Need I say more....

#1 Shubman Gill scored his first 200 at the age of 19; Kohli scored his first 200 at 28.

Shubman Gill's highest score in Ranji Trophy is 268

One of the biggest reasons why Virat Kohli would have hailed Shubman as a better player than himself is Gill's innings of 268 in the Ranji Trophy. Playing just his 2nd Ranji season, Gill played a superb innings of 268 runs against Tamil Nadu. The youngster paced the innings really well as he took only 328 balls to score 268 runs and he even smashed 29 fours and 4 sixes in that innings.

Virat Kohli, on the other hand, scored his first ever double hundred in professional cricket at the age of 28. He had never been able to score a 200 in domestic cricket. But, Kohli ended that long wait by scoring his first 200 in international cricket in 2016.

Thus, it can be concluded that Virat Kohl's claim that he was not even 10 percent the player that Shubman Gill is at 19 years of age is not entirely unfounded.