Former India cricketer and coach Ravi Shastri believes that young star Shubman Gill, who is currently playing for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023, can surpass Virat Kohli's record for the most runs scored in a single season. Kohli holds the record, having scored 973 runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2016.
Shastri is of the opinion that Gill, who has been in fine form lately and plays at the top of the order, is the one to watch out for. "He has to be an opening batsman, because only then will he get many opportunities to score runs. I feel it is Subhman Gill because he is in good form and also because he plays top of the order. So he will get a good number of opportunities to score runs," Shastri said in an interview with Star Sports, the official TV broadcasters of IPL 2023.
Shastri acknowledges that it won't be easy to break Kohli's record, but feels that an opening batsman can do it with two extra matches and innings. "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 opening batsmen can only break this record if it is possible," he said.
Shastri also shared his views on two other young players who have impressed him in IPL 2023. "If we look at what's happened till now, then the two left-handers, Tilak Varma and Sudharshan, one is 20 years old, the other is 21, they have been a lot of fun to watch. Because they seem to have a future, their temperament and maturity which we can see shows the potential they have to be good players," he said.
Meanwhile, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan picked Tilak Varma and Jurel as the most impressive players so far in IPL 2023. "One is definitely Tilak Varma, he has impressed us a lot. And the second is Jurel, the way Jurel has batted from his first innings, I couldn't even imagine the quality of his shots under pressure. So that is one boy who has impressed, even though it's still in the early stages, but these are promising signs," said Irfan.