Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar said that middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer might not be in for the long haul despite his stunning record in ODIs as well. However, Manjrekar’s remarks came while applauding Shubman Gill for his match-winning unbeaten century against Bangladesh in India’s 2025 Champions Trophy opener in Dubai as well.

Talking about Gill in comparison to Iyer, Manjrekar told ESPN Cricinfo: “He [Gill] is batting at the right position to make a huge impact. When he gets a hundred, like today, it seems like there is plenty left in the tank. It was like 60% of Shubman Gill is enough to get a hundred like this and he stays till the end. That is the difference between Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill that Gill will take you right till the end. He is somebody who you think is going to be around for 10-15 years. Shreyas Iyer, despite his obvious talent, doesn’t give you that impression. Some of the shots he played, the good-length ball he hit and it went into second tier… the big game is at his beck and call. Can he be better in 50-over cricket as a batter? I don’t think so, what can be better than this?”

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Sanjay Manjrekar further lauded Shubman Gill for his ability to bat in multiple gears as per the game’s situation. The youngster also boasts
outstanding ODI numbers with 2,688 runs at an average of 62.51 and a strike rate of 100.78 in 51 matches as well.

“Shubman Gill is that kind of a player, he is not one-dimensional, he has all the gears and we saw him do that today as well. He is a guy at the top of his 50-over-cricket prowess and he does it very calmly. There is an air of dominance and surety with the way he bats and finishes games. And also the ability to nick off singles, keep that scoreboard ticking. It is not that he plays the sweep shot a lot or the dab,” said Manjrekar.

“He goes very traditional and loves to keep the bat straight. Even when he is playing the pull shot, the bat comes down very straight. A lot of his singles would be back-foot punches to long-on instead of playing just with soft hands. A guy who can get singles at will, can hit a six at will, has got a reasonably good defence for 50-over cricket, he’s the complete player at the moment,” Sanjay Manjrekar concluded.