Former South African batter AB de Villiers added that he thought young Indian batter Shubman Gill would end up leading the run-scoring charts at the 2023 World Cup. However, Gill played nine matches, scoring 354 runs at an average of 44.25 with four half-centuries to his name as well. However, the kind of a year that he was having, especially in ODI cricket, he could have certainly done that, although he missed the first two matches of the tournament due to dengue.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, AB de Villiers said: “I thought he (Shubman Gill) would be the top scorer in the World Cup. He didn’t have the best of World Cups but I see him doing well in all three formats. He knows how to handle big moments and I can’t wait to watch him in the IPL.”
However, he also opined on the criticism Suryakumar Yadav faced after his disappointing 18 (28) in the final. AB de Villiers feels SKY has everything needed to crack not just in the shortest format but even in the ODI and the Test format.
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“He (SKY) should be a fantastic player in all three formats. His technique is solid. There are no areas of weakness I feel. It is very odd to me that he can’t find a way to lay that foundation in the longer formats. It’s just about getting that belief that you can handle the ODI format,” he added.
Meanwhile, AB de Villiers believes veteran Indian batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should be a part of the Indian squad that will travel to the West Indies and the USA for the T20 World Cup 2024 as well.
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Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, AB de Villiers said: “It is just one year away (T20 World Cup) so I don’t see any reason why they (Rohit and Virat) shouldn’t be there. You need experience in World Cups and I don’t think you get any better experience than the two of them. Rohit batted very well at the top of the order in the World Cup and that’s exactly what you want in T20 cricket. Virat is the glue of that middle order.”
“I can understand how Rohit and Virat must be feeling after missing out on the World Cup. I have gone through that feeling when we lost the 2015 World Cup semifinal. I don’t even know whether I am over it now. It’s almost like you have taken a feel of a trophy but then it’s taken away from you. So yes, it is tough to recover quickly from that knock,” AB de Villiers concluded.
