In the opening Twenty20 International match against Australia, Shubman Gill performed admirably, hitting an undefeated 37 off 20 balls at Canberra’s Manuka Oval. On Friday, October 31, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, he was removed for a mere five runs in the second Twenty20 International.
Prior to the 2025 Asia Cup, the Punjab batsman was named the Indian team’s long-term vice-captain. The gifted cricket player hasn’t been able to live up to his promise, though. Just 164 runs at an average of 23.43 have been scored by Shubman in his past nine T20I innings.
Following India’s 0-1 loss in the five-match series after losing the second Twenty20 International by four wickets, 2007 T20 World Cup winner Irfan Pathan stated that although Shubman Gill has been receiving opportunities and the selectors’ support, he hasn’t been able to repay their belief in his talents. The former all-rounder for India stated that if the runs don’t continue to come in, Shubman Gill will be under increasing strain.
Looking at Shubman Gill, he took Sanju Samson’s place as India’s opening batsman in Twenty20 Internationals after the latter had amassed three hundreds. Gill has a lot of IPL scoring potential and leadership qualities. He must perform, though. He hasn’t even reached the 200-run mark in the last 10 innings. Pressure will therefore mount on him. We haven’t seen his performances yet, but he needs to turn the opportunities and support he’s receiving into them,” Pathan stated on his YouTube channel.
Shubman Gill must regularly score: Pathan.
Since the gifted Yashasvi Jaiswal is waiting for his chance, Pathan said Shubman Gill should aim to score runs regularly or else the pressure would continue to mount on him.
“Yashasvi Jaiswal is an outstanding Twenty20 player. We saw him with a 160 strike rate in the IPL. It will put pressure on him and the squad if he stays out while Gill continues to have regular opportunities and fails to deliver. Gill must score often. Otherwise, it’s an issue that a player with Yashasvi’s skill, who isn’t currently playing ODI cricket or T20s for India, is on the bench. He can do marvels and even score 200 in ODIs, Pathan remarked.
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