Former Indian fast bowler Ajit Agarkar while talking about the opening combination for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2021 said that they should continue with Shubman Gill at the top of the order despite failures as he is a terrific player and is their future.
Shubman Gill has had an below par IPL 14 campaign so far. The 21-year old managed the scores of 15, 33, 21, and 0 in the four games and is one of the main reasons that Eoin Morgan-led side are currently on a three-match losing streak.
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However, with Shubman Gill not firing at the top of the order, there have been some talks that KKR should open with Sunil Narine and bring 21-year old down the order.
While talking to ESPNCricinfo, former Indian fast bowler Ajit Agarkar said that KKR should stick with Shubman Gill as an opener and use Narine as a floater in their batting line-up.
"Not yet needed (Narine on top. They (KKR) have got really two good players (on top). Narine can be the floater, which he always is for them. Shubman Gill is okay, he needs to get more runs.
“He looked good in that one game against Chennai, he has missed out otherwise. He is a terrific player, and he is your future. If you are going to give up on someone after four games, you are never going to help your team," Ajit Agarkar told ESPNCricinfo.
Agarkar argued that Nitish Rana has batted well in the tournament and there's no need to change his spot. He added that it will be best for KKR to utilize Narine as a floater.
"Nitish Rana had a decent tournament so far. So, I don't think why they should change it. There is always that option, but in my opinion, if Sunil Narine is the floater, it is always good for Kolkata Knight Riders,” he said.
Ajit Agarkar further said that KKR need to start playing better as a team and they have not been good enough.
"It's just that they need to do better, to start playing better as a team. Not just replacing one or two players at the top. I think, collectively, they have not been good enough," he concluded.
Shubman Gill however, was also leading run scorer for KKR in IPL 2020 as he scored 440 runs at a decent strike rate of 117.96 in the 14 matches he played.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
