Dean Jones wants young Shubman Gill to open the batting for KKR in IPL 2020. The young batsman has become a mainstay by gathering more than 200 runs in both the last two seasons besides accumulating four half-centuries. Several current and former cricketers have praised young batsman Shubman Gill who became a sensation after playing a crucial role in India’s Under 19 world cup triumph in 2018.
Soon after he was picked by KKR in the IPL auction and he has not disappointed his team. He has restored faith and belief in Kolkata Knight Rider’s team by tallying over 200 runs in the last two seasons.
Dean Jones Wants Shubman Gill To Open For KKR As Chris Lynn No Longer In Team
Shubman Gill who has played only two ODIs for India by debuting against New Zealand in 2019 is a future star in the making as in 37 T20s he has accumulated 777 runs at a healthy strike rate of 33.78 and has six fifties to his name.
“I want to see Shubman Gill open the batting for Kolkata Knight Riders. I think there is an opportunity for it now and the time has come for them to put him at the top of the order and let him play,” Dean Jones said while naming the youngsters as one of the players he will be watching out this season.
Former Australian cricketer and commentator Dean Jones believes that KKR should let Shubman Gill open the batting and he, in turn, should show his class and temperament while batting at the top of the order. Australian destructive opening batsman Chris Lynn is no longer a part of KKR and so Shubman Gill should be utilized at the top of the order as this year of IPL will be played in UAE where Shubman Gill should take advantage of the conditions.
Dean Jones Keen To Watch Rishabh Pant
Dean Jones is also keen to watch another of his favourite player Rishabh Pant, who is in the reckoning for being a permanent member of the Indian side a wicket-keeper. Destructive Rishabh Pant has not cemented his place in both the test and limited-overs squad of India as he often throws his wicket after being set and his wicket-keeping has not reached veteran MS Dhoni’s mark yet.
“I am also very keen to see how Rishabh Pant plays. He has been a bit up and down and it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of knowing that Dhoni is back playing,” Dean Jones told Hindustan Times during an exclusive conversation from his home in Australia.
Rishabh Pant has made his test debut in 2018, ODI debut in 2018, and T20I debut in 2017 and has played only 28 T20Is,15 ODIs, and 13 Tests. Despite having an average of 44.35 in tests with two centuries to his name, he has not performed according to the mark in ODIs and T20Is where he averages less than 30 and has no centuries to his name yet. He is a part of the Delhi Capitals squad in IPL since 2016.