"Cementing a place in the side is becoming really hard" - Dinesh Karthik on Shubman Gill's place in India's playing XI
Dinesh Karthik recently pointed out that Shubman Gill has had to prove himself on multiple occasions in order to secure his spot in India's playing XI in Tests and ODIs.
During a discussion on Cricbuzz, he noted that when Gill was rested for India's ODI series against Bangladesh in December last year, Ishan Kishan made a strong case for himself with a stellar 210-run knock.
He opined that there was an added pressure on Gill when he returned to the side, as there was a lot of talk regarding Kishan's double century.
Speaking about the right-handed batter, Karthik explained:
"Cementing a place in the side is becoming really hard. Let's take a case in point of Shubman Gill. He did well in New Zealand. He was not picked for Bangladesh because they rested him for some strange reason, and in that opportunity, Ishan Kishan gets a double hundred.
"So next time he plays as an opener, he has to make it count because everybody is saying Ishan Kishan has got a double hundred. Shubman Gill, walking into an ODI series after getting a hundred in the previous series, feels like he is second in line now."
Notably, Gill has made a significant impact with the bat across formats in the recent past. He aggregated 360 runs, which included a 208-run knock in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand earlier this year.
The talented opener continued his stellar form in the ensuing T20I series, slamming 126* in the crucial deciding contest against the Kiwis.
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Gill bagged praise from fans for his batting exploits in the recently culminated Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia, where he scored 128 runs in the first innings of the final Test.
"Shubman Gill has definitely been the breakout star" - Dinesh Karthik on the opening batter's exploits in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Dinesh Karthik lauded Shubman Gill for his outstanding performance against Australia in the Ahmedabad Test. He believes that the 23-year-old was the breakout star for the Indian team in the series.
The veteran keeper-batter suggested that Gill has now finally cemented his place in the Indian team for Tests and ODIs.
On this, he said:
"He [Shubman Gill] has to be the breakout star because you have to say at this point in time that he has sealed his spot in ODI cricket and Test cricket.
"He's got a hundred in T20Is as well, but I would still say there's some time to go before he makes it his own, but for the moment, Shubman Gill has definitely been the breakout star when it comes to batting in this series."
Gill will next be seen in action in the forthcoming three-match home ODI series against Australia. The opening encounter will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday, March 17.
India's ODI squad for Australia series
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (ruled out), Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, and Jaydev Unadkat.