3 reasons why Shubman Gill starting in India's XI for the New Zealand T20Is is the right move

At a press conference ahead of the three-match T20I series against New Zealand, Team India captain Hardik Pandya made it clear that Shubman Gill will open the innings for the team. The open backing of the youngster is similar to the confidence Rohit Sharma gave Gill ahead of the Sri Lanka series.

After the latter was rested for the Bangladesh ODIs, Ishan Kishan hammered the fastest men’s ODI double hundred in the third match of the series in Chattogram. However, Rohit made it clear ahead of the Sri Lanka series at home that Gill would open ahead of Kishan.

On Thursday, January 26, Pandya reaffirmed the team’s confidence in Gill ahead of the T20I series against the Kiwis. He commented:

"Shubman has done exceptionally well. So there is no talk about the opportunity, Shubman will start because of the way he is batting and was already there in the team (for Sri Lanka T20Is)."

While Prithvi Shaw has also made his comeback into the T20I squad on the basis of his domestic exploits, we look at three reasons why Gill starting in India's XI for the New Zealand T20Is is the right move.

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#1 Gill's exceptional form cannot be ignored

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer has stated more than once in recent times that, after Virat Kohli, Gill could be the biggest batting star in the country who could dominate all formats. The young opener vindicated the decision to pick him over Kishan against Sri Lanka with some impressive performances.

Gill has been in stupendous form lately, having registered three 100-plus scores in his last four ODI innings. He smashed 116 off 97 against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram and followed it up with 208 off 149 balls in the first ODI against New Zealand in Hyderabad, becoming the fifth Indian batter and the youngest overall to smash an ODI double hundred.

The right-handed batter carried on his great form in the subsequent ODIs as well, scoring 40* in Raipur and a blistering 112 off 78 balls in Indore.

Given the tremendous form that Gill has displayed in recent games, it would be impossible to look beyond him as one of the openers in Team India’s white-ball formats.

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#2 He was part of the team for the Sri Lanka T20Is

Before the New Zealand series, Gill also opened the innings with Kishan in the T20Is against Sri Lanka. He did not have a great debut T20I series, registering scores of seven, five, and 46 in the three matches. However, one series is too short a sample size to judge the skills of a player. He deserves a longer rope in the T20Is to try and make a mark. As such, it is only fair that India give him another run against the Kiwis.

While some experts have questioned his T20 credentials, he does have a decent record in the format. In 98 T20s, Gill has scored 2635 runs at an average of 32.93 and a strike rate of 128.78, with one hundred and 17 fifties.

Having captained him in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Pandya will know a thing or two about Gill’s T20 credentials. The latter opened the batting for the Gujarat Titans (GT) last season and was one of the keys to their title triumph in their maiden season, smashing 483 runs in 16 matches at an average of 34.50 and a strike rate of 132.33, with four fifties. He played some terrific knocks, scoring at a swift pace.

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#3 Prithvi Shaw was picked as the backup opener

While Shaw has earned a deserved comeback into the Indian T20 squad on the basis of his excellent domestic performances, he will have to wait for his chances.

The 23-year-old made his T20I debut during the Men in Blue’s tour of Sri Lanka in July 2021. The right-handed batter was dismissed for a golden duck and hasn’t played another match in the format for India since.

Although he entered international cricket before Gill, Shaw has fallen behind the former and Kishan in the pecking order with regard to the opening slot in T20Is. In other words, he has been picked as the backup opener for the T20Is against New Zealand. He might get a chance in case there are some injury issues or the management decides to give some of the regular players a rest

To quote Pandya from the press conference on the Gill versus Shaw debate:

“Actually, mauke ki baat hi nahi hai” (There is no talk about opportunities at all.)

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