"I am not so sure as yet" - Sanjay Bangar on whether Shubman Gill has sealed the opener debate

Sanjay Bangar feels Shubman Gill has not yet sealed his spot as Rohit Sharma's opening partner despite his double century in the first ODI between India and New Zealand.

Gill smashed 208 runs off 149 deliveries as the Men in Blue set a massive 350-run target for the Black Caps in Hyderabad on Wednesday, January 18. Their bowlers then bowled out the visitors for 337 to eke out a narrow 12-run win.

During a discussion on the Star Sports show 'Match Point', Bangar was asked whether he thinks Shubman Gill has sealed the opener debate with his double ton, to which he responded:

"I am not so sure as yet because obviously there is one batter (Ishan Kishan) who is a left-hander who has also done that feat not too long ago. Again very similar in the age group category, he is 24 and Shubman is 23."

However, the former Indian batting coach reckons Gill, Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma might now be the only three remaining contenders to be India's openers at the World Cup later this year, saying:

"A great thing for Indian cricket because what it does actually is that it sort of narrows down your choices to maybe possibly now that out of those three, two will certainly open for the Indian team in the 50-over World Cup."

Kishan smoked a blazing double century in the final ODI against Bangladesh but had to make way for Gill at the top of the order in the subsequent series against Sri Lanka. With KL Rahul unavailable for the ODIs against the Kiwis, the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter played in the middle order in the first game but managed only five runs off 14 deliveries.

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"Who knows what can happen" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Shubman Gill as India's opener at the World Cup

Shubman Gill has stood out in ODI cricket in the last year or so. [P/C: BCCI]

Sanjay Manjrekar also concurred with Bangar's views that the call might be too early from a World Cup perspective, reasoning:

"I know where he (Bangar) is coming from because he is looking at finally the World Cup squad and there is a bit of time there. There is going to be an IPL before that, there are about 20 ODI matches before that, so who knows what can happen."

However, the former Indian batter reckons Gill might have done enough to seal the deal, saying:

"Ishan Kishan was dropped after a double hundred, so things can happen, but slightly more optimistic about Shubman Gill being the opener."

Gill has a stupendous record in ODI cricket, having amassed 1102 runs at an outstanding average of 68.87 and an impressive strike rate of 109.00 in 19 games.

Kishan has scored 482 runs at an excellent average of 48.20 in 11 matches, but 210 of those runs have come in one knock and he has been found slightly wanting against swing and seam at times.