Kohli on Gill century: 'The future is here'

India's star youngster Shubman Gill shut down the critics with an incredible unbeaten 126-run knock in the third and final T20I of the series against New Zealand. After a string of low scores in the format, many former cricketers and fans believed Gill needs to take a step back and focus on ODIs and Tests; however, the 23-year-old finally repaid captain Hardik Pandya and the team management's faith as he went past Virat Kohli to become India's highest scorer in an innings in T20Is.

Gill is widely touted to carry forward Kohli's batting legacy in the Indian team, and it didn't come as a surprise when the former Indian captain put a Instagram story claiming the same himself. After a century knock in the third T20Is, Kohli posted a picture with Gill with an epic five-word caption. "Sitaara (Star). The future is here," wrote Kohli.

With his ton against New Zealand, Gill now has a hundred across all three formats of the game, becoming only the second-youngest batter in the history of the game to achieve the feat. Pakistan's Ahmed Shahzad holds the record, as he breached the three-figure mark in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is at 22 years and 127 days.

Incidentally, Gill made his T20I debut only this year during the side's first match of the year against Sri Lanka in January. Before the century knock, Gill had only 76 runs in five matches and there had been considerable pressure on the youngster to retain the place in the side, specifically with the presence of another young opener in Prithvi Shaw.

Virat Kohli, meanwhile, has partnered Gill in a number of strong partnerships in the ODIs and the duo will be aiming to make a similar contribution in the longest format when Team India returns to action on February 9 against Australia. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team will be chasing a berth in the World Test Championship when it takes on Australia, who are currently at the top of the table in the 2021-23 edition.