The recently held ODI series between West Indies and India saw young Shubman Gill getting an opportunity in the white-ball format after a while. The Punjab lad didn’t need a second invitation to stake his claim as he was the main architect behind India’s 3-0 win.
Opening the batting, Gill provided his team with a solid start in all three games. He started the series with a brisk half-century, scoring 64 off 53 balls and followed it with 49-ball 43 in the second match.
The right-hander took his batting to the next level in the third game, playing a high-class knock of 98* as rain robbed him of maiden international century.
While Gill impressed one and all with his performance against the West Indies, he was also criticized by some for not converting his starts and fifties into big scores.
Sharing his two cents, former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris on Saturday (July 30) said that the 22-year-old is a good enough batter to work on his flaws.
Styris further cited the example of legendary Sachin Tendulkar, saying the latter kept learning from his mistakes towards the end of his career.
“You are always learning, even towards the end Tendulkar was still learning about his craft and he played, what was it? 200 Test matches. So, you know, I think, you would never label someone so young, like Shubman Gill as a complete player. I still think there are holes in his game. I think there are holes in his technique that the opposition will look to exploit, but he's got all the skills and the other component. What makes a World class player is their mental thought process and their maturity and leadership. And I think he has that as well. And for that reason, yes you're quite right you can keep him up there with the Rohits, KL Rahuls and Shikhars in terms of openers," Styris told Sports 18.
Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim also weighed in on Shubman Gill and whether the youngster can go on to lead Team India in the future.
“I think it's good to get some kind of experience. And I feel one year, two year around the line we may see Shubman elevated to lead one of these on the India T20 league. And I think once he gets that kind of experience, in addition, he can manage to lead Punjab in the domestic level that will really board well for him. So, he will gain experience and as you rightly said, he has shown some leadership skills. So that will really do well for Shubman Gill in future,” Karim said.
