Indian opener Shubman Gill might be feeling the heat after a poor performance against arch-rivals Pakistan during their Asia Cup opener. With Ishan Kishan continuing his dream run in the 50-over format and KL Rahul recovering fast, the pressure is on Gill to give some good performances with the bat. The right-handed batter will have a chance to start against a less competitive Nepali bowling line-up in India’s next game in the marquee event.
Gill scored just 10 runs off just 32 balls against Pakistan
Gill has had a torrid time off late and failed to fire in India’s recent five-match T20I series against the West Indies in the Caribbean. In the five-match series, Gill managed to score just 102 runs, with four single-figure scores. Coming to the Asia Cup, Gill had to face the Pakistani pace trio which did not go well for him despite staying on the crease for a decent amount of time.
Gill has visibly struggled to get going on the two-paced surfaces he’s recently played on – his strike rate is 71.95 in his last four ODIs and 120 in his last five T20Is. Speaking about Gill’s overall numbers, he has played 28 ODI games and amassed 1447 runs at an average of 60. The youngster has six fifties four centuries and one double century.
On the other hand, Kishan is making a case for himself as the Southpaw continues to his sublime form in the 50-over format. After being adjudged as the player of the series against West Indies, Kishan played an excellent knock against the arch-rivals Pakistan. Batting in pressure situation, the left-handed batter took his time in the middle but played his big shots to stage India’s comeback.
With Kishan batting well and Rahul recovering fast from his tear injury, the Men in Blue might be tempted to slot Kishan in place of Gill at top of the order with KL playing as a wicketkeeper-batter and playing in the middle-order. As a result, Shubman needs to perform well with the bat in rest of the Asia Cup, else his position in the playing XI might be in danger.
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