Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra said that in-form India opener Shubman Gill is going to have a memorable 2023 World Cup at home. He also predicted that Gill would score at least two centuries in the tournament as well. However, India will begin their 2023 World Cup campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8. While there will be high expectations from players like skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah, the team has hopes from Gill to do well, who has been in sublime form over the last year and a half as well.
In a video on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “This tournament could be Shubman Gill’s. In all fairness, the tournament will belong to the top three batters. The good ones will make a lot of records. Shubman Gill will score a lot of runs. I feel he will score at least two hundreds; I won’t be surprised if he hits three as well. One of them could be a daddy hundred if he doesn’t get tired. Gill is a quality player and this World Cup could be his.”
Aakash Chopra also applauded the 24-year-old for working on his apparent weakness against left-arm slow bowling as well. However, Gill has a terrific record in one-dayers where in 35 matches, he scored 1917 runs which came at an average of 66.10 and a strike rate of 102.84, with six tons and nine fifties so far.
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“At one point of time, it seemed like he gets stuck against left-arm spin. But he showed he can take that on as well during his last hundred in the Asia Cup. It was his best ODI knock in my opinion,” he further added.
While Chopra said that the top three batters will dominate the World Cup, he backed Pakistan’s keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, who bats at No. 4 in ODIs, to score well in the mega event. Rizwan has played 65 ODIs, scoring 1693 runs at an average of 36.80, with two tons and 12 fifties as well.
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“Mohammad Rizwan is an interesting one. He is a very effective player and plays spin very well. His best comes in the powerplay when he opens in T20s. But Pakistan need a good batter at No. 4 [in ODIs]. I think Pakistan will be competitive in the World Cup and Rizwan could have a big role to play in it. He will control the game in the middle overs and I feel he will have a good World Cup,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
