The performance of India’s young top-order batters has made competition for places stiffer, but Shubman Gill believes that hasn’t led to any toxicity among the contenders.
With Rohit Sharma in the twilight of his career and already retired from T20Is, the performances of Abhishek Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Gill himself has led to competition for the opening spot, especially in white-ball cricket. But the 25-year-old Gill asserts it’s not “toxic”.
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“Abhishek is a childhood friend of mine. Jaiswal is also a friend, I don’t think there is any toxic competition between us. Obviously if you are playing for the country, you want to perform in every match, and not think that ‘I wish this guy doesn’t perform’,” said Gill, who has been appointed the vice-captain of the ODI team as India take on England in a three-match series, followed by the ICC Champions Trophy.
Both Gill and Jaiswal have been named in the squad, while Abhishek Sharma emerged as the top-scorer in the five-match T20I series against England with 279 runs at a strike rate of 219.69 and average of 55.80.
Jaiswal, however, is yet to make his ODI debut and has played 23 T20Is so far. But his Test career has taken off like a bullet train, with 1798 runs in 36 innings, including four centuries — two of which he turned into consecutive double hundreds — and 10 fifties.
Talking about captain Rohit, who has been in poor form since the start of the season, Gill said, “The way Rohit bhai has been batting in the ODIs in the past one year and a half, it’s been really game-changing for us. Taking the momentum right through from the start and taking the game away from ball one, it makes the job of the non-striker and the batters coming in a bit easier; and I think it has helped our team a lot.”
On the subject of team selection and the debate around Karun Nair being ignored despite having a stellar run in the domestic circuit, Gill said too much chopping and changing creates an insecure environment
Nair averaged 389.50 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but was not considered for the Champions Trophy.
Gill said a secure team environment gives a lot of confidence to the players.
“Karun had a great Vijay Hazare Trophy, but that doesn’t mean the current players should be dropped. They have also performed well to reach this stage,” said the Indian vice-captain.
“We have lost only one game in the World Cups. The players in the squad have contributed significantly, and while it’s unfortunate for those excelling in domestic cricket who weren’t picked, constant chopping and changing will affect players’ confidence. Without continuity, we can never build a strong team.”
