Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has praised Shubman Gill for playing a great knock and using the opportunities pretty well as an opener, a position he’s unlikely to retain for a long time as well. Gill smashed an unbeaten 82 off just 72 deliveries in the first ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare on Thursday (August 18). The stylish opener added together an unbroken 192-run first-wicket partnership with Shikhar Dhawan to help India chase down a 190-run target with ease.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “Let’s talk about Shubman Gill because of the way he is batting. The maturity is visible. The Player of the Series of the last series, and here he was playing cautiously. He will not get to bat regularly at this number, both you and I know that. Rohit Sharma will open with Shikhar Dhawan as soon as he is back. As of now, KL Rahul is not opening; if he wants, he can also open. Virat Kohli comes at No. 3, but Shreyas Iyer is also giving an audition for No. 3. I feel even Shubman Gill is absolutely ready for No. 3.”
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However, Shubman Gill made his ODI debut while batting at No. 3. He managed only 16 runs in his two innings against New Zealand in 2019. And, Aakash Chopra stated that Gill’s promise was evident from his Under-19 days as well. Gill has scored 336 runs at an excellent average of 67.20 in seven ODIs he has featured so far. He has scored 287 runs in his last four knocks as well.
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“Shubman Gill is a phenomenal story; they say your future can be seen when you are an infant; it was seen in under-19 and then in the Melbourne debut. Then also there was the thinking that he is not the opener you are looking for in Test cricket, but he will bat in the top three in white ball cricket. He did amazingly well for the Gujarat Titans as an opener; here also he is getting a chance as an opener and is not letting go of his opportunities. I think he is going to start building more pressure on the rest, that if all of them continue scoring runs, he will remain out, but if they open the door even slightly, he will come in,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
