IPL 2023: 'Go on and lead the next generation' - 'King' Virat Kohli's message to 'Prince' Shubman Gill

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IPL 2023: "King' Virat Kohli has publicly chosen his successor and it's none other than 'Prince' Shubhman Gill who slammed his first IPL hundred on Monday. The Gujarat Titans (GT) batter hit 13 fours and one six en route to his 58-ball 113 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

The knock helped Gujarat post a 189-run target for Hyderabad who lost the match by 34 runs. The 23-year-old batter is now the second-highest run-scorer in the IPL 2023. Gill has scored 576 runs in 13 matches, one run ahead of Yashasvi Jaiswal and 55 behind Faf du Plessis.

Kohli has been closely observing all the IPL games and praising players for their individual performances. He praised Wriddhiman Saha and Rashid Khan for their performances against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). The former RCB captain also praised Yashasvi Jaiswal a few days ago.

This time around, the 34-year-old batting superstar had hailed Gill and asked him to "go on and lead the next generation". The last three innings have seen the Punjab-born batter score 101, 6 and 94 unbeaten runs.

"There's potential and then there is Gill. Go on and lead the next generation. God bless you," Kohli wrote in his Instagram Story on Tuesday.

Gill's knock fired GT to their ninth win of the season. The defending champions have now become the first team to qualify for the IPL 2023 play-offs. They are certain of a top-two finish and will play in the Qualifier 1 and aim to qualify directly for the mega final.

Gill has risen in stature and is a regular in all the three formats for India. The right-hander is already considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket and fans have already given him the 'prince' tag.

He has two Test hundreds, four ODI hundreds and one T20I hundred to his name. Post the IPL, Gill will be travelling to the UK with the Indian Test team for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia from June 7.