Shubman Gill, whose maiden century in the T20 format occurred in the third and final T20I of the series against New Zealand, once again proves that he is the “future of Indian batting.” Gill, who had previously set a record by scoring a double hundred in the one-day international against the Kiwis, reached triple digits for the first time in his career in the shortest format. Gill became the fifth Indian to score a century in a T20I match in just 54 balls.
Gill’s score of 126 at the end of his innings is the highest for an Indian in T20 internationals. Virat Kohli previously held the record for the highest Indian T20I score. In the Asia Cup, Kohli scored an unbeaten 122 runs against Afghanistan. In the match against the Kiwis, Gill beat him.
With the help of 12 fours and seven sixes, Gill continued his excellent form by hitting the New Zealand bowlers all over the Narendra Modi Stadium to score 126 not out in just 63 balls.
Gautam Gambhir had said that Shubman Gill’s “basic game”
Gill has been receiving plenty of criticism for his performances in the shortest format for India of late. With someone like Prithvi Shaw waiting on the bench, former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir had said that Gill’s “basic game” doesn’t suit the shortest format as much as Shaw’s does.
Shubman Gill is expected to be replaced by KL Rahul, the Indian team’s designated opener in the longest format, despite being in the best shape of his life. In the first test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023, India will play Australia on Thursday.
Has Shubman Gill established himself as a member of the Indian playing XI in any format? In Test cricket, should Gill start with Rohit Sharma rather than KL Rahul? Irfan Pathan, a former Indian all-rounder, has commented on India’s opening debate ahead of their Border-Gavaskar Trophy matchup with Australia. India will play in the second ICC World Test Championship on Thursday, having defeated New Zealand in the limited-overs format.
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India all-rounder Irfan Pathan was also all praise for Gill’s batting and his red-hot form, however, he feels that India should not consider his white-ball form to replace KL Rahul as an opener in Test cricket.
His score of 126 has broken Virat Kohli’s record for the highest individual score by an Indian male batter in T20s.
So it is no surprise to hear Indian veteran Irfan Pathan praising Shubman Gill commenting that he has as much potential as Kohli does.
Pathan also added that Gill’s way of batting is similar to that of Kohli and he can become an all-format batter for India. Kohli ruled all formats for many years and Gill may do the same in the coming years. But having potential is one thing and converting it into a good performance is another.
