Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw are the two options for the opener’s position in Team India for the much-awaited Test series against Australia. While Prithvi had an unimpressive outing in the two warm-up games, Gill showed his prowess against a decent Australia A bowling line up. Observing the practice matches, Aakash Chopra has praised the latter’s unique batting stance and technique and has favoured him to be the opening batting partner of Mayank Agarwal.
Talking about the second innings of India in the pink-ball warm-up game in Sydney, Aakash Chopra noted that India was ready for another early fall of wickets after Prithvi Shaw lost his wicket for three runs. But Shubman Gill stepped in to take the game forward, and Chopra was amazed to see his batting ability.
“It seemed that the first session will be difficult for batting as the ball was new and Prithvi Shaw had got dismissed as well. So when the wicket falls, India comes slightly on the backfoot but after that Shubman Gill comes on the front foot and how well he bats.”
The renowned commentator stated that he liked the way Shubman stitched his innings with graceful shots. He noted that the Punjab batsman tends to stay beside the line of the ball and plays some pleasing strokes on the up,
“He almost walked in as an opener as he did in the first innings. He played in a dominating fashion. Some of his shots are very good, his backfoot punch is a special shot and the on-the-rise shot is also very good. He stays beside the line so that he gets the time to open his arms. It can be a double-edged sword if the sideways movement is more.”
Aakash Chopra observes Shubman Gill as the preferable option for the opening position:
Although Gill has an unconventional batting stance, Chopra opines that it’s important to get runs on board irrespective of how your playing style is. As the youngster was called into action early in both innings of the encounter, Chopra remarks that it is good to see that he is getting runs with the pink ball.
“But in the end, everyone has their own playing style but how many runs you make is important. It matters what is the quality of your runs against quality opposition. If you are playing almost as an opener and it is a seaming pitch with the pink ball, then he is making runs although his style of playing may be different,” Aakash Chopra maintained.
Further, Aakash Chopra, in his video, questioned the way Shubman Gill was given out. He recalls that the ball seemed to have missed the bat and struck the KKR opener high on the pads albeit the umpire has raised his finger for out.
“I didn’t understand how Shubman Gill was given out. The ball hit him almost near the thighs, so he was not leg-before, Swepson was the bowler. Sean Abbott did take the catch in the slips but there was no appeal for the catch.”
Aakash Chopra signs off by stating that Shubman Gill’s impressive outing in the warm-up games makes him a favourite for notching the opening position in the marquee Test series.
“If you include both the innings, he has scored more than 100 runs in this encounter. So, the question will be with whom will you open with Mayank Agarwal – Shubman Gill or Prithvi Shaw.”
Meanwhile, the Test series will be in Adelaide when the two teams play their first-ever pink-ball Test on December 17. The last three Tests will be played in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane respectively.