Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris said Shubman Gill is putting pressure on veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan, with the World Cup set to be played in India next year.
Scott Styris Praises Gill
In the 9 ODIs he played so far, Gill scored 499 runs which include 3 half-centuries and one century at an average of 71.29.
“That is such a tough question and the reason I say that is because you’ve got four or five players who could all open up and do a terrific job,” Styris said on Sports18 on whether Gill can become India’s first-choice opener.
As for the Indian ODI cricket team, captain Rohit Sharma and Dhawan are the preferred openers at the moment.
“The question you have is, do you simply pick on who’s in the best form at that time, or does there what they’ve done in the past count for anything? What have they done in the ICC events? All of these things come into the equation,” Styris further said.
“I think he’s got a huge future in front of him for this Indian side. So yes, that’s the answer. He’s putting pressure on Shikhar Dhawan,” he said about Gill.
Styris, however, noted that Dhawan holds an advantage over Gill. Dhawan played 158 ODI matches and scored 6647 runs which includes 17 centuries and 38 half-centuries at a strike rate of 92.08.
“Does he go over the top of them? I still think they love that left-handed option. There aren’t too many top-order left-handers who are taking the game by the scruff of the neck in Indian cricket as an opener and therefore Shikhar Dhawan has that going in his favour so maybe Shubman Gill has to bide his time a little bit or as we saw number 3 might be a spot for him,” he said.
The 13th edition of the men’s Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be hosted by India during October and November 2023.
