Shubman Gill may have been dismissed cheaply in the first innings of the WTC final on Thursday but he is being seen as the “next big thing” in Indian cricket and teammates Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are keen to help the 23-year-old grow.

Gill has had a dream run across formats in the last one year. “Shubman Gill has got so much potential. Without a doubt in my mind, the next big thing in Indian cricket,” Rohit told the ICC on the sidelines of the World Test Championship final against Australia.

“He has got everything required to get success at this level. I just hope he continues this good run of form,” Rohit added.

If the skipper was effusive in his praise, Gill’s idol Kohli wants to help the youngster with all his knowledge acquired during his 15 years of top-flight cricket.

“What I know, he has told me that he has looked up to my career when I was coming up the ranks, he speaks to me a lot about the game and I am keen to help him grow,” Kohli said.

Kohli’s fans call him ‘King’ and now Gill, the heir apparent, is being termed as the ‘Prince’. Gill’s cover drive has a resemblance with Kohli’s execution and the maestro is aware.

“All these tags of King and Prince are great for the public but the job of any senior cricketer is to help any youngster groom youngsters and give them insight that you have experienced throughout your career, so that they can manage their ups and downs,” said Kohli.

In 17 matches in IPL 2023, Gill has five centuries across formats, amassing 980 runs, including three centuries.

His good form, however, didn't continue in the WTC final at The Oval as Australia's Scott Boland knocked out his off stumps once the opener wrongly decided to leave the incoming delivery. The ball jagged back and took him by surprise.

Head coach Rahul Dravid has seen him and nurtured him through his junior cricket days and is happy that he has come up the ranks.

“I saw him during U-19 World Cup in 2018 and you could see he was earmarked to be a special player for India,” Dravid said. “He has come over really well in the last one year, he has been through ups and downs, been through injuries and in and out of team.”

“He has always not been a certainty in Test or ODI side. He has come together beautifully in last 14-16 months where we are getting to see a great player and hopefully, Shubman will have many great years for India.”

Written with PTI inputs