‘Playing with freedom’: Shubman Gill on Virat Kohli’s new approach

Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli (PTI Photo) Indian captain Shubman Gill believes the best way to get the most out of Virat Kohli is to simply let the star be himself.Kohli smashed an unbeaten 139 off 88 balls as India beat West Indies by eight wickets in the first ODI at the Greenfield International Stadium on Sunday. Gill also scored 110 as the two shared a partnership of 151 runs.Chasing 296 with 50 balls to spare, India took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Kohli also completed 15,000 ODI runs during his knock.

“Virat Kohli plays with freedom”

Gill said Kohli is enjoying his cricket and making the most of his ability to hit boundaries.“Honestly, when I got out I thought I should have finished the game. But it was a satisfying innings for me. He’s batting brilliantly and I think he’s enjoying the game a lot more, he’s playing with freedom, that’s the facts of his batting and he’s always had that game, the ability to clear boundaries at will, he’s doing that right now.”“You leave someone like him who has won so many matches for India and the day he wins matches for you,” Gill said at the post-match ceremony on Sunday.Gill was dismissed after reaching his seventh ODI century, but Kohli stayed till the end to complete the chase.

Gill praises Kuldeep’s comeback

Gill also praised Kuldeep Yadav for changing the game after West Indies got off to a tough start.“Someone like Kuldeep, especially in the middle overs if he bowls well, is a keeper. We were on the back foot with their opening partnership, he brought us back into the game, at one point it looked like keeping them to 300 was great.”West Indies openers Justin Greaves and John Campbell put on 135 runs before Kuldeep finished with 4-40.Gill also said that India wanted more depth in their batting line-up.“Ideally yes, we would like an eighth batting option: someone who can contribute at least 20-30 runs. We haven’t been able to get the scores we wanted, but we are open to trying different combinations to see what works for us,” he said.