The opening partnership between India’s budding sensation Shubman Gill and team captain Rohit Sharma, in his opinion, might be a turning point for the hosts in their upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023 campaign in October and November.
The newly formed Indian combination has had a successful start in one-day international cricket, with 685 runs in nine batting appearances together.
This statistic is encouraging as India prepares for the forthcoming big competition and the Asia Cup, which starts on August 30.
“It feels great to be able to open with him, especially knowing that all the focus is on him. He’s someone who likes the other batters to go and just express himself and play the way I want to play the game. So in that nature, he gives the players full freedom for how they want to express their game,” Shubman Gill said as quoted by ICC.
Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma: Formidable duo
Even as two right-handers, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma’s style of play in white-ball cricket proves to be a lethal combination.
Six out of eight times, the pair has been able to set up an opening stand of more than fifty runs. They have also scored 143 runs against Sri Lanka in Guwahati and 212 runs against New Zealand earlier this year at Indore.
It has been successful for players to have diverse attack strategies, batting approaches, and capabilities in scoring.
“I think because his (Rohit’s) targeted areas are a bit different (to mine). He loves to go aerial in the Powerplay. And I’m someone who likes to find the gaps and keep getting those boundaries, and he’s someone who likes to hit sixes. So I think that combination works well,” Shubman Gill was quoted as saying by ICC.
On September 2, the Rohit Sharma-Shubman Gill duo will return to the pitch to take on their toughest test: Pakistan’s potent pace bowling assault.
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