As a young player among some very senior professionals, Shubman Gill, who's also the No. 1 ODI batter, hailed the determination displayed by batting maestro Virat Kohli on the cricket field, stating that his hunger and intensity serve as a source of inspiration for him.
Here's what the Indian opener said during his post-match presser after the Men in Blue's 70-run victory over New Zealand:
On Virat Kohli
"You know, every time he (Virat Kohli) comes on to the park, he does something special and just how consistently he's been able to do it for the past 10-15 years is what is really inspiring. And I think for me, it's not so much about the skill that he has, but it's more about the hunger when he goes there and the intensity with which he plays the game is what inspires me. And to be able to have that consistently for as long as he's been doing it is what really inspires me."
Missed out on a century?
"If I didn't get cramp, maybe I would have scored 100. But I think, the total we were trying to reach, irrespective of whether I scored 100 or not, we reached there and had a hope of scoring around 400. We had expectations, that till the 25th – 30th over we should have scored these many runs and we did that, so it didn’t matter that I made a century or not."
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India's brilliant run this World Cup
"Feels great. The way our batting, bowling, and fielding the way we have dominated in this World Cup it's just as a player to be able to play with all those players sitting in the dressing room. It's just been a magnificent run for us."
Facing Mohd Shami in the nets
"Yes, it's very difficult. In the nets, it's like, if the wicket is good, it is difficult. But it is fun to play because even Bumrah, Siraj and Shami - they enjoy playing us in nets and it is definitely very challenging."