It was in 2008 that the world of cricket first took note of a chubby-cheeked but aggressive batsman in the form of Virat Kohli as he led India to the ICC U-19 World Cup triumph in Malaysia. Ten years later, Punjab’s Shubman Gill, part of India’s U-19 World Cup squad, hopes to emulate the feat of his idol.

However, on Friday, Gill who is looking forward to walking the footsteps of Kohli shown some signs of that as he imitated one of the shots invented by Virat itself.

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During last league match of Team India against Zimbabwe of the ongoing U-19 World Cup at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, Shubman was seen playing the short-arm jab against Zimbabwe’s fast bowler over mid-wicket. It is the same shot which Virat played against English bowler Chris Woakes in Pune during his innings of 122 while chasing the target of 350+.

Kohli received a lot of appreciation for that shot as it needs a lot of power and timing to hit a six with that type of a jab. Even during the post-match presentation, Kohli had acknowledged that he even was not aware that from where that shot came from. However, with Gill playing a similar kind of a shot in the U-19 World Cup, he will surely grab a lot of eyeballs for the same.

Here is the video of shots played by both the batsmen:

https://www.facebook.com/IndianCricketTeam/posts/1735228159832203

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The youngster, who hails from Fazilka, is a huge fan of Virat’s fitness and his consistency. Recently in an interview, talking about the same, Gill said, “He remains my inspiration. Everyone looks up to him. His fitness, athleticism, performances he has been putting in… he’s an inspiration for many.”

Shubman is leaving no stone unturned to follow in his idol’s footsteps. Like Kohli, he is aware of his game and knows he needs to spend time in the middle before going after the bowlers in New Zealand. He said, “It will be important to stay at the crease for the initial half-an-hour or hour, particularly if we are batting first. So I am planning on all those things. You don’t have to play too many shots at the start of the innings.”