CricketWasim Akram predicts Gaikwad to be the next Indian star
The 2023 IPL season saw many young talents show their amazing skills and surprised everyone. India’s 23-year-old right-hand batsman Shubman Gill also gave many epic performances for his team, the Gujarat Titans, and did some sensational batting in the league. His second century of this season also knocked RCB out of the IPL 2023 and cleared the path for playoffs for the Mumbai Indians. In qualifier 2 against MI, Gill again smashed a blazing century and gave them a big target to chase. In return, Mumbai could not win the match, and GT went to the finals to battle against CSK.
Gill named player of the tournament
Although Gujarat Titans were not able to win the title, Gill was named player of the tournament and also the winner of the orange cap. Former Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif also praised Gill for smashing 890 runs this season. In an interview, Kaif said, “Shubman Gill is a very organized player and mentally strong , he knows how to score runs depending on the conditions. The hard work he puts in during practice is clearly evident in his performance. He single-handedly won the game for his team against RCB.
Gaikwad was valuable for CSK this season
While Kaif praised Gill for his exceptional performance, former Pakistani pacer and legendary cricketer Wasim Akram commended Chennai Super Kings opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad and said that he has a bright future in Indian cricket.
Gaikwad played an important role for CSK the entire season and scored 564 runs in IPL 2023 with an average of 42.14. These runs included four half centuries and a century, which he scored against the Rajasthan Royals off 60 balls. Till now, Ruturaj Gaikwad has played 52 games for CSK and has accumulated 1797 runs. He has also played 10 t20s for India. A few days ago, he was replaced by Yashasvi Jaiswal as a standby player in the Indian squad ahead of the WTC final.
Wasim Akram praised Gaikwad
Talking about Gaikwad, Wasim Akram said, “He came up with an excellent performance when the team was under pressure. The plus point about him is that he is physically very fit and also a good fielder. Gaikwad has a bright future when it comes to Indian cricket as well as the franchise he plays for”.
Gaikwad’s international debut for the Indian team was in June 2021 against Sri Lanka in the ODI and T20 series. In December 2021, he was again named in the ODI squad for their series against South Africa. Next year, Gaikwad was selected for the series against West Indies.
