Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes Shubman Gill hasn’t yet settled down as India’s ODI captain ahead of the series against Afghanistan. While Gill has performed consistently as India’s Test skipper, he is yet to nail down the ODI captaincy.
Out of the six matches in which Gill has led in ODIs, India has managed only two wins, losing both series against Australia and New Zealand by 2-1.
“Shubman Gill has captained in six matches, and we have lost both series. We have won only two matches, one in Australia and one against New Zealand. So, Shubman Gill, as a captain in this format, hasn’t really settled down yet,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
The renowned commentator added that Gill would want to improve his ODI record and also continue his rich form with the bat.
“That’s a big story. You want to change that thing. You really want him to just stamp his authority, although he is not stopping with the bat. He has scored runs as a captain as well, and he will continue to score runs. Considering the kind of form he is in, you will look towards him to score runs,” he observed.
The former Delhi cricketer tipped Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma’s opening pair as greatest duo in ODI cricket in current scenario.
“Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma’s opening partnership, it is right now the greatest pair in ODI cricket. We are talking about more than 2,000 runs. I am looking at the average. Theirs is 63.8, Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy had an average of 58.4, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes had an average of 52.6, and Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar had an average of 49.3,” the former India opener said.
“They have scored 2,360 runs, and have 14 fifty-plus stands and seven century partnerships. So, this is the modern-day best opening combination in terms of the average. That actually is a good story,” he added.
Chopra highlighted that India’s veteran batter Rohit Sharma is on the cusp of multiple records in ODIs.
“Rohit Sharma is only six runs away from becoming the first Indian opener to score 16,000 international runs. That is some legacy. He is only one century away from moving clear of Sachin Tendulkar for the second place on the all-time list of international hundreds as an opener. Rohit Sharma is at that stage of his career where he will keep creating or breaking records,” he observed.
India will take on Afghanistan in the first ODI at Dharamshala on Saturday.
