Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra praised captain Shubman Gill after India registered a seven-wicket win against Afghanistan at Dharamshala on Saturday. Chasing 195 runs in a shortened match of 25 overs/innings, Gill scored a match-winning knock of 84 runs off 66 balls with the help of 11 fours and two sixes. Thus, he was awarded the Player of the Match.
The Indian skipper got off to a sedate start, scoring at a run-a-ball for the first 29 deliveries however, he was able to change gears afterwards.
Gill continued his rich form as he recently scored a fine hundred in the one-off Test match against the Afghans. Furthermore, he amassed 732 runs in 16 matches in IPL 2026 while leading Gujarat Titans.
“Shubman Gill, what a player. He seamlessly switches across formats. He scores runs with great authority. Prince is no longer written on his bat, supreme has been written. Shubman Gill is telling us once again that he is special. He scored a century in Qualifier 2 in a T20 and then a hundred in a Test,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra was impressed with a beautiful cover drive which Gill played to get off the mark against the visitors.
“It wasn’t a hundred here, but it was no less than that. He is batting beautifully, almost like a dream. He hit a cover drive. Just watch that shot and clap. That was pure class. That was his first scoring shot, and he kept hitting after that. Asserting and dominating, he looks good,” he observed.
The renowned commentator praised KL Rahul’s knock after the flamboyant batter smashed 39 runs off 19 balls.
“Ishan Kishan played an important knock, and that partnership was very important. Then KL Rahul comes and tells you that this is called versatility. He scored 152 runs as an opener in the IPL, scored a hundred while defending continuously in Test cricket, and he did that in the middle order, actually as a finisher, here,” he said.
Chopra hailed Rahul for hitting Ziaur Rahman for 20 runs in an over and putting the game to bed.
“What a guy, and there was one over where he decided that it was enough, and that he had made up his mind to finish the match in that Ziaur Rahman over, and he does it in style. He hit two sixes, and he makes batting look so easy, but it is not easy,” Chopra observed.
The second ODI between India and Afghanistan will be played at Lucknow on Wednesday.
