"He was averaging 15 batting first" - Former India all-rounder's candid take on Shubman Gill playing all formats

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan opined on Shubman Gill playing all formats. Gill returned to the T20I fold and has been named vice-captain for the upcoming 2025 Asia Cup. There have been talks about whether the young batter would be able to play all formats, given the amount of cricket set to take place.

During a special interaction organized by Sony Sports Network, Irfan was asked if Shubman Gill would go through a slump like Virat Kohli over a period of time if he plays all formats consistently.

At a point towards the end of his Test career, Kohli was averaging 15 batting first. However, Irfan reckoned that a slump does not make him a bad player as he has won several games for India over the years. Similarly, he stated that the talk about Shubman Gill should happen only if he does not perform.

"Virat Kohli is a great player. He has been a match-winner. But he was averaging 15 batting first. And there are certain things that were not going his way. But it is not like he is not a good player if he did not perform at that time. He has won games for India for years. Tomorrow, if Shubman does not perform, if his average is also 15 for an entire year, and he is still with the team, then we will talk. For now, he was the vice-captain before as well, but no one questioned that when he went out. Now he is back, which was his place," he said.

Gill, who took over as the Test captain from Rohit Sharma, had a brilliant run with the bat in the recently concluded England tour. He amassed 754 runs from five Tests with four hundreds, including a double-hundred.

---

Playing aggressively should be an issue for Shubman Gill in T20Is, reckons Irfan Pathan

In the same interaction, Irfan Pathan also reckoned that Shubman Gill would not face an issue playing aggressively in the T20 format. Gill last played a T20I for India before the 2024 T20 World Cup.

While there have been questions over his selection for the 2025 Asia Cup, the 25-year-old has performed consistently in the IPL for the last three seasons. In 2025 alone, he made 650 runs from 15 games at an average of 50 and a strike-rate of 155.87, which Irfan also highlighted.

"I think Shubman Gill has improved his T20 cricket a lot. What we have seen this season, the way he played, the amount of runs he scored, and few seasons in the IPL as well. There was a time I remember when he started, when he played for KKR, I vaguely remember his strike-rate was about 125ish. And then suddenly he jumped to 150. Last year's IPL was 150 plus and he was consistently scoring runs as well," he said.

"Now the Indian team has gone to a higher strike-rate, they want to be very aggressive. So I don't think there should be an issue for Shubman Gill to start playing an aggressive role and do what the team demands of him," he added.

The former India all-rounder also expressed that Gill would be keen to prove himself and his ability to bat aggressively in the T20 format. He believed that the right-hander as the capability and ability to switch gears at different stages of the innings.