Three reasons why Shubman Gill's inclusion deserves applause

A total of 372 runs in the Under-19 World Cup last January, 203 runs at a strike rate of almost 150 during the Indian Premier League in April-May, 418 runs in the Vijay Hazare trophy, 168 runs at an average of 84 in the Deodhar Trophy, 728 runs in the Ranji Trophy and tons of runs for India A in 2018. If Shubman Gill does not get a game for India's senior national side right now, the selectors are ignoring a serious talent.

For almost a year now, the 19-year old Shubman Gill from Fazilka district of Punjab in India is being hailed as the next big thing in Indian cricket. The figures stated above are a testament to it. The young right-handed batsman is calm, composed, attacking and most importantly has run - around a couple thousand in the last one year at the competitive level - on his side.

If you just look at Gill's batting statistics, he has seven centuries in 52 First Class and List A innings combined together. His batting strike rate is not less than 77 in either format and in T20's it is touching 150. He already has a big double hundred in first-class cricket and has shown he has it in him to bat for long hours. All in all, Shubman Gill is a youngster who deserves a place in the Indian side, 'purely' (an adjective India's captain Virat Kohli tends to use quite often) on the basis of merit.

The only reason one would argue against Shubman Gill's selection is to not disturb India's team balance with very little time and matches remaining before the World Cup. But for a middle order that has not been anywhere near impressive in the last year or so, the disturbance is the last thing Gill could cause to the team's balance.

Let us have a look at three reasons Gill's selection was long term overdue and how his selection for the New Zealand tour is a welcome change.

#1 Current Form and Flexibility

Gill driving one through the covers against England Lions during a Tri-Series match in 2018

If Shubman Gill's current form is anything to go by, there is no reason for him to warm the bench or carry drinks while he is with the Indian squad in New Zealand. In his last seven innings, Shubman Gill has piled up no less than 618 runs. He narrowly missed out on his fourth first-class century in the first innings of Punjab's must-win encounter against Bengal to make it to the Ranji quarters less than five days ago.

Having scored around two thousand runs in competitive cricket in 2018, Shubman Gill must be having the right mix of caution and aggression. While being named the player of the tournament during the Under-19 World Cup was one thing, Shubman was equally impressive in his closest outing to International cricket so far - the Indian Premier League last year. Gill almost took Kolkata Knight Riders to the final even as his team's batting was collapsing while chasing a target of 175 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Another great thing with Shubman is his flexibility within the batting order. Over the past year, Shubman has shown that he has the ability to adapt while batting at any number in any format under any conditions. While he is essentially a top four batsman, he can even bat at five and six and perform the finisher's role.

#2 A Fragile Indian Middle Order

India's middle order has been at its weakest over the last couple of years

In the last year or so, the performance of India's middle order in one day international cricket has been disappointing, to say the least. While the top three - Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Virat Kohli - have done the bulk of the scoring, there has been only one individual century from any other Indian batsman for over a year now.

During India's first one day International played against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground yesterday, the middle order continued with its bad form. Four of India's top six got out in single figures while chasing a big target of 289. While Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli are almost certain to play the World Cup, the form and match practice of Ambati Rayudu as well as Dinesh Karthik is still very much a cause of concern.

Ambati Rayudu is also very much likely to play through to this year's big cricket tournament as Virat Kohli has backed him as the number four batsman leading up to the all-important World Cup that starts in June. However, the position of Dinesh Karthik, who was brought in as a lower middle order batsman is still not certain.

India would ideally love to have two wicketkeepers in the World Cup squad, out of MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul. But if India are looking for options, they need an in-form middle order batsman and can make settling their wicket keeping options as a second priority.

For India to stay in the hunt during the New Zealand series, it would be ideal to play Shubman Gill regularly at any batting position.

#3 Experience Playing in New Zealand conditions

Shubman Gill scored heavily during the Under-19 World Cup and India A's recent tour of New Zealand

Shubman Gill was an integral member of the team that won the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand that was played between January and February 2018. In fact, he was the man of the tournament during that World Cup and was also part of a recent 'India A' tour of New Zealand that was played during between November and December 2018.

Shubman's considerable amount of experience in New Zealand should help India during their long limited-overs tour of New Zealand. Shubman scored a 54-ball 63 during India U-19's tournament opener against Australia. India won the match by 100 runs.

In his second innings of the tournament against Zimbabwe, Shubman scored an unbeaten 59-ball 90 to give India their second 10-wicket victory for India in the tournament. This was the only match in which he opened the batting for India. In India's quarterfinal against Bangladesh, Gill scored a quickfire 86 to help India register yet another hundred-plus run victory.

His unbeaten century in the semifinal against Pakistan gave India a staggering 200-run victory over their arch-rivals. Shubman was also helpful in the final, with his 30-ball 31 helping India achieve an easy eight-wicket victory in the grand finale against Australia.

His experience in U-19 cricket and India A games will help him to get adjusted to New Zealand conditions easily.