The opening partnership between India’s rising star Shubman Gill and captain Rohit Sharma, in his opinion, could be a turning point for the hosts in their upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup campaign in October and November. The newly formed Indian pair has had a successful start in one-day international cricket, amassing 685 runs in nine batting appearances together.
This stat proves to be promising as India gears up for the upcoming mega tournament as well as for the Asia Cup which will begin from 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,” Gill said as quoted by ICC.
Gill and Rohit’s style of play in white-ball cricket, even as two right-handers, turns out to be a potent combination.
Six out of eight times, the pair has been able to put 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 different attack strategies, batting techniques, and strengths in scoring. “I believe this is because Rohit’s targeted areas differ slightly from mine. He enjoys using the Powerplay to fly high. And while he prefers to hit sixes, I prefer to find the gaps and keep hitting those boundaries. Therefore, in my opinion, that combination works well,” Gill was quoted by ICC as saying.
The Rohit-Gill duo will return to the field to face their biggest challenge against the fierce pace bowling attack of Pakistan in the Asia Cup on September 2.