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'900-plus runs is huge...but only he can break Kohli's record': Shastri's daring IPL 2023 prediction on India star
IPL 2023: Ravi Shastri named a batter from India, who could break Virat Kohli's IPL 2016 batting record.
Virat Kohli is undoubtedly one of the greatest batters in cricket history, with many fans even considering him to be the greatest player ever. Currently, participating in IPL 2023, Kohli will be aiming to help Royal Challengers Bangalore win their first-ever Indian Premier League title. The swashbuckling batter will also be hoping to maintain his batting form ahead of the ODI World Cup, and maybe even replicate his IPL 2016 form.
During IPL 2016, Kohli was in imperious form, finishing on top of the Orange Cap race, amassing 973 runs, which is also the record for most runs scored in a single IPL season. During the campaign, he clobbered four tons, including one in a curtailed 15-over match vs Punjab Kings. Despite his performance, he failed to lead RCB to the title, losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.
Since Kohli's IPL 2016 historic feat, no other batter has to repeat such heroics in the tournament. But former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels there is one cricketer who can break Kohli's record, and it is none other than Shubman Gill, who represents Gujarat Titans.
Speaking during a Q/A session on Star Sports, Shastri selected Gill, as the one who could break Kohli's record. "He has to be an opening batsman, because only then will he get many opportunities to score runs. I feel it is Shubman Gill because he is in good form and also because he plays at the top of the order. So he will get a good number of opportunities to score runs", he said.
"The pitches are good, so if he can score 80-100 runs consecutively in two or three innings, then at that point only he will already have 300-400 runs.
"According to me, it is very difficult to break the record, because 900-plus runs is huge. But one thing is opening batsmen will get two extra matches and two extra innings, so they can only break this record if it is possible", he further added.
In the ongoing season, Gill has registered 116 runs in three matches, and is currently 11th in the Orange Cap race. If Shastri's prediction were to come true, then the young batter would need to improve his performance as he is his side's third-highest run-scorer. On Sunday, Gill completed 2000 runs in IPL. In 77 IPL matches, he has registered 2016 runs, at an average of 32.52, with a strike rate of 126.24.
