Former Indian fast bowler Varun Aaron said Shubman Gill must be finding playing second fiddle to Abhishek Sharma a bit weird after the Australia T20Is. Aaron recalled that there was a time when Gill was well ahead of Abhishek Sharma, but the latter has taken his graph to a new level.
Sharma top-scored in the five-match series against Australia with 163 runs in five games at an average of 40.75 and a strike rate of 161.39. Thus, he was awarded Player of the Series for his consistent show. Earlier, the southpaw scored 314 runs in seven matches of the Asia Cup at a blistering strike rate of 200 and was awarded Player of the Tournament.
On the other hand, Gill scored 127 runs in the Asia Cup and he scored 132 runs in five matches at an average of 44 and a strike rate of 136.08 against Australia.
“Shubman Gill must be finding it a bit weird because one-and-a-half or two years ago, Shubman Gill was the leader, if you can say so, within this combination, in the IPL, playing for India in T20Is, and getting consistent runs. He is still getting runs, but Abhishek Sharma is just obliterating everybody with his strike rate,” Varun Aaron said on Star Sports.
Meanwhile, Gill scored 29 runs off 16 balls at the Gabba, Brisbane before rain played killjoy and Aaron showered praise on the Indian vice-captain.
“Shubman Gill is somebody who is playing the ice role in this combination, Abhishek being the fire. Both of them go about their work very effortlessly. Shubman Gill, in the last T20I, just showed how much class he has. He just has to hold his position and he can do everything from there itself,” Aaron elaborated.
The former RCB bowler praised Abhishek Sharma for his ability to adapt to different batting conditions after he delivered in Dubai and Australia.
“He won the Player of the Series in Asia in Dubai on slow wickets, and the other one in Australia. Two very different conditions and he just shows that he has a way to adapt to these conditions. What most batters find difficult is coming from slow wickets to fast wickets. They are not able to adapt,” he said.
“Especially against Josh Hazlewood in the first two games, I thought he had a method, which was to step out and try to get him off his mark. I think Abhishek Sharma has found a way to get the bowlers off their plans. Going forward, he is going to be the most vital cog in the Indian batting wheel because if you get off to a good start, more often than not, you win the game,” Aaron elaborated.
Abhishek will be next seen in action in a five-match T20I series against South Africa.
