India vice-captain Shubman Gill eyes big turnaround in ODIs vs England

After horrendous Test series Down Under, India batter looks to end debate on his place in the ODI team with superlative show
Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal during practice in Nagpur on Tuesday
Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal during practice in Nagpur on TuesdayPTI
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From the time the Border-Gavaskar Trophy came to an end, one of the debates about the Indian team was how long before Yashasvi Jaiswal made the ODI team. While it did not take long, as the youngster was included in the squad for the England ODIs and Champions Trophy, he is still a standby. For, India have their captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Shubman Gill at the top.

Although there is no one questioning Rohit’s place in the ODI team at this point, Gill has come under the lens. So much that arguments are made about how Jaiswal should take Gill’s place at the top given the latter’s poor run of form. There is no question that Gill had a horror series in Australia but in the ODI format, he has been the best opener in the last couple of years.

Since the start of 2023, Shubman Gill is second on the list of run-getters among openers with 1641 runs from 32 innings at 58.6 average and 102.8 strike rate. Dimuth Karunaratne is at the top with 1921 runs but has played 44 innings. Rohit is third on the list with 1400 runs at 51.85 with a SR of 120.27. In fact, he still comes third among all batters since 2023. And that is despite India playing only three of the 107 ODIs that were played in 2024.

Which is why, Gill had no hesitation in saying that one series loss doesn’t define the team or the players ahead of the first ODI against England in Nagpur on Tuesday. "One match and one day doesn't define us, we won there twice before and earlier won a World Cup and then reached the final of a World Cup, so we should keep all those things in mind," Gill said during a press conference in Nagpur on Tuesday.

Apart from his batting, Gill has been looked at as a future captaincy prospect as well. He led the team in Zimbabwe during the T20Is last year and was made vice-captain for the ODIs in Sri Lanka as well. The England ODIs and the Champions Trophy are going to be no different. For Gill, being a part of the think tank with captain Rohit and head coach Gautam Gambhir is understanding the approach of the team and the plans in terms of specific batters and bowlers from the opposition. He wants to learn from every opportunity that he gets. "I take it as a challenge to lead my way, firstly with my performance and then definitely in the field if Rohit bhai would want my opinions. It's my duty to let him know what my thoughts are," he said.

While this series is the precursor to the global event, India are not taking it lightly. For a team that has been through a fair bit on and off the field in the past couple of months, they want to dominate and win the series. "We are playing against a good side and three ODIs and we are not taking this as a practice for Champions Trophy as it is a very important series for us and we are looking to dominate and win this series like any other series,” Gill said.

The first step would be to have a good start in Nagpur on Thursday, especially from the top three — Rohit, Gill and Virat Kohli. The three batters have struggled for runs over the past three months. But this is a different format. It is the format that brings out the best in them. And Gill would want to stamp his authority come Thursday, putting an end to the debates about his place in the team.

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