IPL 2020: ‘Won’t be surprised if he leads a franchise in 2-3 years’, Simon Doull’s high praise about India batsman

IPL 2020: Former New Zealand fast bowler and currently a renowned broadcaster, Simon Doull was the latest to rave about Gill’s leadership qualities.

That Shubman Gill has a truckload of talent is unknown to none but what has been interesting is the fact that noted former cricketers have started to consider him as a future leader. Former New Zealand fast bowler and currently a renowned broadcaster, Simon Doull was the latest to rave about Gill’s leadership qualities.

File image of Simon Doull. (Getty Images)

Doull said he won’t be surprised if Shubman Gill ends up leading an IPL team in two-three years down the line.

“I won’t be surprised if we see him leading an IPL side two years down the line at the ripe age of 22-23. I think he should spend a lot of time with Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan and pick their brains. He also has Brendon McCullum, one of the most innovative captains in the last 7-9 years. I think he can learn a lot if he is around these guys,” Doull said during an interview with Cricbuzz.

Gill, who scored an unbeaten 70 in KKR’s first victory of IPL 2020 against Sunrisers Hyderabad carried on his good form by top-scoring against Rajasthan Royals with 47 off 34 balls. The youngster hit five fours and a six in his stay in the middle. Gill looked well set for another half-century but a Jofra Archer slower ball put an end to his innings.

“It was a perfect score for Shubman to get into this tournament. He didn’t score much in the first match. He needed a score to get started and when you are chasing only 143, you could play your natural game,” Doull said. “It will hold him in good stead moving forward. In the match against SRH, he timed the innings superbly. He needed to be there and show the maturity that he can bat through and win for his team.

“I think Eoin Morgan had the best ally on the other end in Shubman. So, the experience and calm nature of Morgan was supported well by the youthful exuberance of Shubman. He kept his head in place and I think it was a very, very fine innings.”