Former cricketer Aakash Chopra feels that India batter Shubman Gill missed a golden opportunity to slam his maiden international century in the first ODI against West Indies in Trinidad on Friday (July 22).

Opening the innings, Gill scored 64 off 53 balls and was looking set for a hundred. However, the 22-year-old committed a school boy error and got run-out in the 18th over.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra praised Gill for his fluent knock, which included six fours and two sixes.

“Shubman Gill batted extremely well. The way he started with the drive, after that the punch, and the straight six he hit, he is brilliant. When he bats, it seems he is million-dollar," Aakash Chopra stated.

“A half-century is a fantastic return but in my opinion, it was a century missed, an opportunity not lost but definitely missed, because you were playing very well, the opposition team was down, the wrestler had fallen and you just had to crush him," he added

On the fourth delivery of the 18th over, Shubman Gill placed a short-pitched delivery towards midwicket but ran rather casually as Nicholas Pooran picked the ball, turned, and nailed a direct hit at the non-striker’s end.

Replays found Gill short of his crease and the right-hander had to walk back to the pavilion.

Aakash Chopra was critical of Gill’s lazy effort while taking the single as he said: “The way he got run out, that was a lazy run, honestly. It was his own call, it was an easy run as well but he didn’t reach the other end, he was out by such a huge margin, put in the dive. I was slightly disappointed."

Shubman Gill was preferred over Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan as second opener as Chopra said that team management surprised everyone with this move.

“Shikhar Dhawan surprised us slightly at the toss. We were all thinking about Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad but he said they are playing Shubman Gill. They caught us off-guard because no one said Shubman can play," he said.