“The Next Virat Kohli”: Suresh Raina Picks The Top Run-Scorer In World Cup 2023

Former India batsman Suresh Raina opined that Shubman Gill could be India’s leading run-scorer in the upcoming World Cup 2023.

This tournament will be Gill’s first World Cup with the senior men’s team. He won the 2018 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand and was the top scorer in that tournament.

Suresh Raina believes that Shubman Gill is destined to be the next Virat Kohli. The 2011 World Cup winner reckons Gill could end up as the top-scorer in this year’s tournament as Rohit Sharma was in the 2019 World Cup in England, where Rohit scored 648 runs with the help of a record 5 centuries.

Suresh Raina said on Jio Cinema: “He’ll be one of the most important players at the World Cup. I know that he wants to be a superstar and wants to be the next Virat Kohli and is in that aura already and after this World Cup, we will be talking about him more often.”

Gill is a born leader: Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina

Gill has been in sensational form in 2023. Shubman is the leading run-scorer in ODIs in 2023 with 1052 runs at an average of 70 with 4 centuries 4 fifties, including a double ton vs New Zealand.

“The form he’s playing in with his hand speed – it’s extremely strong. Spinners don’t know where to bowl to him and if fast bowlers don’t swing the ball, he can play those really well with a straight or a flick. His mindset will not stop here. What Rohit Sharma did in the 2019 World Cup; Gill could do the same for India this year. He’ll get 50 overs to bat, so it’s a takeoff point for his batting. I think he’s a born leader and he shows that in his game.” 

“He’s been consistent for a year and a half. He struggled in the middle against West Indies, but the way he’s come back and scored good runs in the Asia Cup. He is looking positive, using good footwork, and from getting out at 40 against the West Indies, he is now comfortably hitting 50s and even 100s,” Raina added.