Why Ishan Kishan would have been a better choice than Shubman Gill as Rohit Sharma’s opening partner for Sri Lanka ODIs

With Shikhar Dhawan having been dropped from the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka at home, captain Rohit Sharma will have a new opening partner in Shubman Gill.

Dhawan and Rohit have been one of the most prolific opening pairs in the history of ODIs. In 115 innings, they have notched up 5148 runs as a batting combination at an average of 45.55, with 18 hundred and 15 half-century partnerships.

Following a poor 2022 for Dhawan and the emergence of young alternate options, the Indian selectors have decided not to pick the veteran southpaw for the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Dhawan played 22 ODIs in the previous year and although he scored 688 runs with six half-centuries at an average of 34.40, his strike rate was abysmally low at 74.21. The latter, coupled with poor recent scores, played a major role in his axing.

With Dhawan out, it was to be a toss-up between Kishan and Gill for the slot of Rohit’s opening partner. However, Rohit ended the suspense at the pre-series press conference, confirming the right-hander as his opening partner.

We analyzed why Kishan would have been a better choice at the top of the order.

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ODI stats of Kishan and Gill

Ishan Kishan during the tour of New Zealand. Pic: Getty Images

With Rohit and Dhawan being inseparable over the last decade, Kishan and Gill have got a chance to open only when one of the two has been unavailable - in most cases in Rohit’s absence. Gill has so far featured in 15 ODIs, scoring 687 runs at an average of 57.25 and a strike rate of 99.13, with one hundred and four fifties.

The 23-year-old impressed on tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe last year. He was Player of the Series both times, scoring 205 and 245 runs, respectively. However, his consistency has gone down a bit since then.

In his last six ODI knocks, he has registered scores of three, 28, 49, 50, 45*, and 13. His strike rate in three of those six innings has been very poor - 42.85, 59.09, and 76.92. It would be fair to say he hasn’t grabbed his opportunities with both hands.

Kishan has featured in 10 ODIs to date and has scored 477 runs so far at an average of 53 and a strike rate of 111.97, with one hundred and three fifties. There is not much to pick from the stats of the two players and the sample size is also too small to arrive at a conclusion. However, Kishan has the edge over Gill given his recent ODI form.

In his last innings, he clubbed the fastest ODI double hundred. In fact, in his last five ODI knocks, he has crossed the half-century mark thrice. Before his 210 in Bangladesh, the 24-year-old left-hander had slammed 50 against Zimbabwe in Harare and 93 against South Africa at his home ground in Ranchi.

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Raw aggression vs sublime hitting

Both Kishan and Gill are talented but have varied skills to offer. While the former has the ability to browbeat opponents into submission with his aggressive strokeplay, the latter can score at a swift pace by playing normal cricket shots.

When it comes to esthetics, Gill definitely looks more pleasant and elegant of the duo with the bat. However, when it comes to being a bigger threat to the opposition, Kishan again has the advantage.

When in the groove, he can destroy bowling attacks, as seen during his double ton against Bangladesh. In contrast, Gill can get stuck at times and suddenly go off the boil.

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Left-right combination

Shubman Gill will open the innings against Sri Lanka. Pic: Getty Images

While the Dhawan and Rohit pair have been successful as an opening pair in ODIs because of their cricketing talent, being a left-right combination has also played a part in their prosperity.

Although a technical aspect of the game, it is a proven fact that bowlers struggle more against left-right pairs as opposed to two right-handers or two left-handers. They have to constantly change their line and length when a left-right combination is at the crease.

If we look at the most successful opening duos in ODI history, four of the top five most prolific combinations are left-right pairs - Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly (6609 runs), Adam Gilchrist-Matthew Hayden (5372), Dhawan-Rohit (5148) and Hasim Amla-Quinton de Kock (4198).

While Gill has certainly done impressively well as an opener in ODIs, India had enough reasons to back Kishan ahead of the right-handed batter.

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