"Good player will repay your faith with consistent performances if you give him a consistent rope" - Former Indian cricketer on Shubman Gill

Former India all-rounder and World Cup winner Madan Lal is delighted to see that young opener Shubman Gill has repaid the faith shown in him by the team management.

Before the start of the Sri Lanka ODIs, there was a lot of talk about why Ishan Kishan should receive the nod ahead of Gill as Rohit Sharma's opening partner. However, Rohit made it clear that they were going to back Gill because of his consistent performances.

Shubman Gill obliged and smashed a 70 in the first ODI. He also ended the series with his second ODI hundred.

Speaking to Sports Tak, here's what Madan Lal had to say about Gill:

"Shubman Gill is the best example of how a good player will repay your faith with consistent performances if you give him a consistent rope. He scored a seventy and a hundred and this will keep him in good stead with teams like New Zealand and Australia to follow."

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"India's biggest gain has been the variety in their bowling" - Sunil Gavaskar

Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar was also present on the panel. He pointed out that while batting has always been the Men in Blue's strength, it is their bowling that has stood out in the ODIs against Sri Lanka.

Gavaskar hailed the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav, and feels that the return of Jasprit Bumrah will make the bowling even stronger.

He stated:

"India's biggest gain has been the variety in their bowling. We always knew that India has great depth in their batting with the likes of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav on the bench.

"But the way Siraj has bowled and the way Kuldeep has made a comeback, I am hopeful that when Bumrah comes back from his injury, the Indian bowling will be even stronger and will perform well in the Asia Cup as well as the World Cup."

The Men in Blue will now play a three-match ODI series against New Zealand, beginning on Wednesday, January 18.