Indian captain Rohit Sharma lauded Shubman Gill ahead of India’s Champions Trophy clash against Bangladesh. Rohit said Gill has produced crazy numbers in the ODI format. Gill recently scored 259 runs in three ODIs at an average of 86.33 against England and thus he was awarded Player of the Series.
Gill has scored 2538 runs in 50 ODI matches at an impressive average of 60.16 and he has performed consistently in the 50-over version. The youngster could not deliver in the Test matches against Australia but he was able to turn the tables in the ODI format.
“Gill is a very classy player. There was never a doubt about his ability in this squad. We tend to mix formats and I don’t think that’s the right way to judge any player. Certain players have their strengths in certain formats. If one format doesn’t go well, doesn’t mean that the other format will be the same. What happened in Australia, things have changed suddenly in a different format,” Rohit Sharma said in the pre-match press conference.
“With Gill, we know the numbers are crazy. He’s been superb for us in the last 3-4 years. Obviously, there’s a reason that he’s been elevated to be the vice-captain. Hopefully, he has a great tournament and it eventually will help us achieve things that we are looking to achieve.”
Rohit added they ticked the right boxes in the three matches against England as they clinched the series by 3-0.
“Against England, we played the brand and the ethics of the team that we wanted to. When you are playing a series before an ICC tournament, you want to tick off certain boxes and I thought we ticked off those boxes and played very good cricket,” the Indian captain commented.
The Indian skipper admitted that the Champions Trophy in Dubai will throw a different challenge as they will be playing against different oppositions.
“We wanted to do things where we left off in the World Cup and carry on that kind of momentum into that England series and from there onwards to the Champions Trophy. But we do understand that every series we play is a different challenge, every venue has its own challenge, and Dubai obviously will be a different challenge. So quickly assessing what’s required to do here tomorrow will be the key for us.”
India will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.
