Former Indian fast bowler Mohit Sharma defended Shubman Gill after mix-up with Rohit Sharma in the opening ODI against Afghanistan at Dharamshala on Saturday. Sharma noted that Afghanistan’s spinner Allah Ghazanfar blocked Gill’s path and thus he could not respond to Rohit’s call for a single.

Rohit had to make a U-turn after he jetted off for a run but could not get back in time to the crease. The veteran Indian batter was dismissed after scoring a run-a-ball 16 whereas Gill went on to score an unbeaten knock of 84 runs in the run-chase of 195.

“If you see the run out, it was Rohit’s call, but you will see that Shubman had also taken the start, and then Allah Ghazanfar got in his way, due to which he could not go ahead. After that, Rohit could also not go back because he had already covered more than half the pitch. It was an error which was not in your hands. If he had not come in the way, then Shubman could have completed the run,” Mohit Sharma said on Cricbuzz after India’s seven-wicket win.

On the other hand, Gill also shed light on Rohit’s dismissal and said the experienced batter swept the incident under the rug after watching the replay.

“He saw the replay, he said it’s fine. Even in the last match that we played against Afghanistan, T20s, he got run out there as well,” Gill said during the post-match presentation.

“I mean, it was kind of a T20 game, I think the way we started and then they pulled the game away from us. Gurbaz batted brilliantly, the way he got his century was brilliant. But I think the way we pulled back in the middle overs and the death overs was brilliant. Honestly, I think it was a brilliant wicket to bat on. It was, as the match went on, even when we were bowling, there was a little bit of grip for the spinners. When they were bowling, the ball was coming on pretty nicely,” he said of the match.

The second ODI between India and Afghanistan will be played at Lucknow on Wednesday.