Ahead of the IPL 2023 opening clash, former South Africa batting legend  AB de Villiers feels that New Zealand batter Kane Williamson can be a crucial element in the Gujarat Titan’s batting lineup. Gujarat Titans will be playing against Chennai Super Kings tonight at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

“Kane Williamson is an absolute rockstar player. Very underrated when it comes to T20 cricket. Everyone thinks that he plays slow, run-a-ball and then he ups it. I feel he can be a glue of any batting line-up and still go on and score at 170-180 batting strike rate,” he said.

Earlier, Kane used to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad for the last eight seasons until he was released from the team to take part in the 2023 IPL mega auction. Gujarat then roped him in for his base price of ₹2 crores.

“I think Kane can just play his natural game, get himself in and then ultimately take them down. If the rest of the line-up falls around him, he is the perfect guy to take those guys to the 20th over. And that’s going to be his role,” De Villiers added.

Former 360 batter also praised the young talented batter Shubman Gill and predicted that this edition of IPL will be good for him.

“Shubman Gill is one of those very talented players up the order that can compliment someone like Kane Williamson. Shubman has come a very long way with his cricket and is almost like an experienced campaigner now even though he is still young.”

“He has got all the shots in his book. He is quite a tall opening batsman, strong and beats the ball in the V upfront. He has got all the shots required to take games away from teams but I also feel that he has the mind to think about the game and is a smart cricketer. The IPL 2023 is going to be a good one for him,” he added.

Gill played a vital role in the Gujarat Titans’ winning run in the last IPL. He concluded the IPL 2022 as Titan’s second-highest run getter by collecting 483 runs in 16 innings.