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For years, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been the torchbearers of India’s batting in white-ball cricket and a young star has been tipped to take on the mantle.
Stalwarts of Indian cricket Virat Kohli (left) and Rohit Sharma (AP Photo)
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are nearing the end of their international careers. Given their contribution and influence, whenever they decide to draw curtains on their respective India careers, it will be the end of an era. And leave a huge void which will be difficult to fill.
The Indian team management has kickstarted the process to identify their successors. And in ODIs, a certain Shubman Gill looks poised to take on the mantle.
In the ongoing Champions Trophy, Gill, while opening the innings alongside Rohit, has looked in terrific form.
Against Bangladesh, India’s tournament opener, he scored an unbeaten century on a tricky Dubai surface to play a starring role in an impressive victory. Then in a high-pressure game against Pakistan, he laid the foundation of a comfortable chase with a strokeful 52-ball 46.
Former India allrounder Sanjay Bangar is mighty impressed with Gill who is also the team’s vice-captain and tipped him to carry the Indian team for years to come.
“Clearly, he’s the guy who is going to shoulder the responsibility of the Indian team going forward in years to come,” Bangar said on JioHotstar. “(His) foundations are really, really strong and add to that the confidence of nearly two-and-a-half years of performing in one-day cricket. In one-day cricket, he’s been phenomenal.”
“Now look, the straight drive, the on-drive are the shots wherein you cannot actually hit the ball really hard. But here, he was hitting the ball so hard that despite the mid-off and the mid-on fielder being on that 30-yard circle, the ball was going and hitting them. That’s the kind of timing he possesses,” he added.
Gill, the current top-ranked ODI batter, has come of age, feels another former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu.
“Look, see, nothing grows under a banyan tree and the banyan tree of Indian cricket is basically Rohit Sharma and with him, Virat Kohli. But when you look at Shubman Gill, those two straight drives, even the blistering cover drive, this is like a blitzkrieg where the opposition is taken aback, you know, it’s awe-inspiring,” Navjot said.
“This man has emerged from the shadows of that banyan tree and has come of age. It’s tough to say that. You rate ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempt. When you actually take your side through after scoring a hundred and don’t throw your wicket, that responsibility is making you better,” he added.
