Former India batter Aakash Chopra has showered praise on Shubman Gill, saying he’s put the debate about India’s opening batter to rest after their win in Hyderabad. Gill scored a double century as India beat New Zealand by 12 runs in the first ODI of the three-match series.
“He (Gill) has put that debate to rest about who should open. There were some discussions after Ishan Kishan’s double century and there were some discussions about Shikhar Dhawan before that. It was even felt at times whether KL Rahul was batting at the right number but it is quite apparent now that Shubman Gill should open,” said Chopra.
He said Gill us meant to play cricket at the top, adding that India have got two double centurions in the last two months.
“He is meant to play ODI cricket right at the top. India have got two double centurions in the last one-and-a-half to two months. Ishan Kishan had struck a double century against Bangladesh and here Shubman Gill has struck it against New Zealand. He has done an amazing job, how well the kid bats,” Chopra added.
The former cricketer said the 50-over format suits Gill the best, adding that whenever he bats, he does so in a beautiful fashion.
“Rohit Sharma was batting well at the start and Shubman Gill was playing slightly second fiddle to him. Although Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ishan Kishan got out, Shubman Gill kept on hitting from the other end. This format suits him the most. When he bats, he does that in an extremely beautiful fashion. He is the fastest Indian to reach the 1000 ODI-run mark. That is also amazing and it deserves applause if a kid scores 200 in a team score of 350. He was hitting sixes in the end as though the match was being played on a video game,” said Chopra.
