"I expect that average to be a lot higher" - Scott Styris on Shubman Gill putting pressure on Shikhar Dhawan for a spot in India's ODI side

Shubman Gill scored his maiden ODI fifty in the first ODI against the West Indies [P/C: Twitter]

Scott Styris believes Shubman Gill will improve his ODI record the more he plays as an opener. He added that the youngster has all the requisites to be one of the best batters in the world.

Gill has played impressive knocks in the first two games of the ongoing ODI series against the West Indies. He smashed 64 runs off just 53 deliveries in the series opener at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad and followed it up with a 43-run knock in the second game on Sunday, July 24 at the same venue.

During an interaction on the Sports 18 show 'Sports Over the Top', Styris was asked if Gill's performance in the second ODI has put more pressure on Shikhar Dhawan, considering that Team India have plenty of opening options at the moment. He replied:

"When he (Gill) plays for India at the top, I expect that average to be a lot higher because he is such a classy player. There are very few bigger fans than me of Shubman Gill."

The cricketer-turned-analyst added that he has high expectations from the lanky opener. Styris said:

"I have been very vocal about that over the last couple of years. I think he has the skills and the cricket nous to be one of the world's best."

Shubman Gill 🤝 Virat Kohli 🇮🇳

#ViratKohli #Shubmangill #CricketTwitter #India #WIvIND https://t.co/oRmXcCgL1c

Shubman Gill has aggregated 156 runs at a middling average of 31.20 in the five ODIs he has played to date. Although he has not had a great start to his 50-over international career, he seems to be coming into his own in the ongoing series against the Windies.

"They were off to a slow start" - Scott Styris on Shikhar Dhawan's lowly strike rate as compared to Shubman Gill

Shikhar Dhawan went at a snail's pace in the second ODI against the West Indies [P/C: BCCI/Twitter]

Speaking about the second ODI against the West Indies, Styris pointed out that the Indian openers gave the team a pedestrian start. He elaborated:

"When you look at Shikhar Dhawan's strike rate in this match, it wasn't great. They were off to a slow start, even when Shubman Gill was out, it was 60-odd after 15-16 overs, that's not a great strike rate when you are chasing 300 plus."

Yesterday Dhawan scored just 13 off 31, but I saw that knock live and I know it was not statpadding. He was simply in horrible rhythm and couldn't time anything.

Statpadding is never about sheer numbers. Statpadding is what Shai Hope did on his way from 90 to 100 yesterday.

Styris pointed out that while Gill went at a decent pace, it was Dhawan's slowish innings that made the visitors' chase slightly difficult. The former New Zealand all-rounder observed:

"It wasn't down to Shubman Gill, that's the key, his strike rate was nearly up to a 100, so he did his part. If Shikhar had done his too, this run chase would have been a lot easier for India."

Dhawan played 31 deliveries for his 13 runs in the second ODI against the Caribbean side. Gill, at the other end, scored 43 runs off 49 balls and did not let Team India fall too far behind the eight ball in their pursuit of a 312-run target.