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Shubman Gill said there’s no ‘toxic’ competition between him, Abhishek Sharma, and Yashasvi Jaiswal for top-order spots, emphasizing their friendship and mutual support.
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal (from left to right)
Indian ODI vice-captain Shubman Gill said on Tuesday that despite competing for the same top-order positions in international sides across formats, he doesn’t have any ‘toxic’ competition between him, Abhishek Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. He added that both players are his good friends and he never wishes bad on them, and instead, always hopes that they do well for the country whenever they play.
Abhishek, who is from Gill’s batch of India Under-19 and Punjab teams, has leapfrogged him as the first-choice T20I opener. Jaiswal, meanwhile, is one of the first names on the teamsheet for Tests as the opener. Gill has almost a similar position in ODIs, where he has been touted as the next leader by chief selector Ajit Agarkar, but has lacked in recent form in the other formats, which leaves him vulnerable of competition.
“Abhishek is a childhood friend of mine, Jaiswal is also a good friend,” Gill said in a press conference in Nagpur where India will begin a three-ODI series against England from Thursday. “I don’t think there’s any toxic competition between us. Obviously, when you are playing for the country, you want to perform in every match. [But] you don’t really think, ‘Oh, I wish this guy doesn’t perform’ or ‘I wish he doesn’t perform’. You are playing for… you are representing the country, you are playing for the country so whoever does well, you feel good for them and you congratulate them.”
More to follow…
- Location :
Nagpur, India, India
