Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has applauded Shubman Gill, calling him a combination of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. His comments came after the second ODI against West Indies, played in Guwahati on September 30. Chasing a mammoth 406, Shubman Gill scored his double century in 117 balls, the fastest in international cricket. He remained
unbeaten on 223 off 133 balls, smashing 26 fours and eight sixes to help India finish their highest successful chase in ODIs, winning by eight wickets in just 43.3 overs as well.

Speaking during a discussion on his YouTube channel (Ash ki Baat), Ashwin said: “I’ll say it straight: Shubman Gill is a great combination of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. I refuse to agree, but I’m saying it was very princely. This is the first time I’m using this name. What a brilliant innings it was. Especially that shot where he jumped out and played a cut against the fast bowler over point. He is an exceptional player. Virat Kohli doesn’t play the cut and sweep that much against spinners, and there is no need to play the sweep against fast bowlers. Shubman plays both shots,” he added.

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“Rohit Sharma is very good at using the back foot against both spinners and fast bowlers. Shubman does both. That is very rare. Rohit Sharma plays the inside-out shot, Virat Kohli also plays it, and Shubman plays it too. Virat Kohli uses his feet but doesn’t hit the ball that hard from there. Rohit Sharma uses his feet and hits big sixes. Gill does the same. So, in many ways, he matches them shot for shot,” he shared.

However, Ravichandran Ashwin also stated that, just like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill’s best format is ODI cricket. He added that if ODI cricket continues to thrive, Gill could break many records,

“This is his best format. We always say that we can talk about Virat Kohli in Test cricket. Virat Kohli’s best format is ODI cricket. Rohit’s best format is ODI cricket. In that line, Shubman Gill’s best format is also ODI cricket. I really hope ODI cricket stays on because Shubman Gill will put the ODI records of many great cricketers in danger, the way he is batting and the combination of skills he has,” R Ashwin concluded.