‘It’s too early to talk’ – Former India opener backs Shubman Gill despite decline in performance

As India is preparing hard for the upcoming ODI World Cup, the team is looking forward to making a balanced squad. In the absence of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, team management is constantly backing players like Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill. However, a dip in Gill’s performance after the Indian Premier League 2023 has been a concern for fans and cricket pundits.

Going into the marquee event, Gill is one of the most important players in the Indian squad. He has been phenomenal in the first half of the year, and the team is looking to get more from him. However, the ongoing West Indies tour has been nothing short of a nightmare for Gill. He has scored just 45 runs in three innings in the Test series. In the first ODI, he scored just 7 runs. Fans have started criticising him and asking to remove him from the top order.

However, former India batter Abhinav Mukund thinks differently. He believes that it’s too early to judge Gill and that he should be an integral part of India’s World Cup squad. Mukund said, “I think it’s too early to talk about Shubman Gill’s failure because he has had a phenomenal last couple of years. It is important as a viewer and as an Indian cricket fan to not mess up formats.”

“I feel we always tend to mix up formats, we tend to drop here and there, and we tend to associate form with certain formats. The Test format is done. As far as ODIs are concerned, Shubman Gill is our top player, and I think he should go to the World Cup. I don’t think his form is a concern. I’m sure he’ll be back with a bang,” said Mukund while speaking on Jio Cinema.

What will be India’s combination in the 2nd ODI?

In a few hours, India will face the West Indies in the 2nd ODI. After winning the first game with a lot of experiments in the batting order, the Indian team management will be keen to get over the Carrebian challenge. The team might rest some players and explore its bench strength considering the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup. Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson might get a chance in place of Ishan Kishan, while Yuzvendra Chahal can make an appearance in place of Kuldeep Yadav.

Speaking about the same former India cricketer, Nikhil Chopra says India might make changes in the spin department. “The only change that I feel can happen is in the spin department, as both Axar Patel and Yuzi Chahal are sitting out. Ravindra Jadeja had a pretty good day on Thursday, with him getting three wickets and also scoring an unbeaten 16. So, if any changes are there, then it’s in the spin department”, said Chopra on Jio Cinema.