IND Vs SL 1st ODI : Shubhman Gill opens up about his selection over Ishan Kishan in the first match

The Right-Handed batter opened with Rohit Sharma and smacked 70 off 60

23-year-old star batter Shubhman Gill silenced all the critics yesterday who were against his selection over Ishan Kishan against Sri-Lanka for the first ODI at Guwahati. Gill opened with Captain Rohit Sharma and the duo amassed 143 runs for the first wicket.

That's a brilliant 50-run partnership between @ImRo45 & @ShubmanGill 💥💥

Live – https://t.co/262rcUdafb #INDvSL @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/nrIvQ6gdVK

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 10, 2023

 

While, Hitman Sharma was providing the explosives, Gill was complimenting him by sticking to the crease and accelerating his inning bit by bit. Although, the 23-year-old was out for 70 runs but he did not let his captain and coach down who chose him over Ishan kishan, who smashed 200 runs in his last ODI match.

Hum Youngstar Ko Mauka Denge 😂
Rohit Nahi tha to uske jagah pe khelke fastest 200 mara ishaan bhai ne ❤
Itna accha performance deke bhi isko kal ka match se bahar kar diya gaya hai
Maine pahle hi bola tha isko drop karege aur Kl Rahul Ko Khilayege 💔#ishankishan #RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/CL0qzwybPv

— Sanju Sharma 💔 (@DalalHonSanjuKa) January 9, 2023

This decision was highly criticized by fans as well as pundits but thanks to Shubhman Gill’s reliant partnership with Sharma, the selectors had a sigh of relief. The Gujarat Titans batter showed excellent maturity as an opener and in future he could be a possible option for the opening slot.

Shubman Gill joins the party with a well made FIFTY off 51 deliveries.

Live – https://t.co/262rcUdafb #INDvSL @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/BqzDJ1Rwlr

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 10, 2023

The way he carried himself throughout the innings could be an answer to India’s battle for finding a reliable opener after Rohit Sharma. If Gill gets paired alongside Ishan Kishan, the youngsters can form a lethal opening pairing.

Though Gill still has a long way to go but if he keeps the same level of consistency, he will become a regular for India. He will be gutted to miss out from his second ODI Century by 30 runs but sky is the limit for Shubhman as he is just getting started.

He spoke upon a number of things after the match and began with his experience of working with head coach Rahul Dravid – “It feels good when the team captain backs you. This was the conversation in the practice as well, that I will be playing. Rahul bhai (Dravid) also told me to just play my natural game… whatever I have been doing in the one-dayers, continue doing that.” 

He also opened up on batting with fellow opener Rohit Sharma – “I have batted with Rohit bhai before in Australia, mainly in the Tests. It is nice to bat with him. The conversation generally when we were in the middle is, which bowler to target? What are they trying to do? Where are they trying to block our runs? And accordingly we make our plans.”

Do you think his pairing with Ishan Kishan in future will work for India?