"It's obvious that he will get the first opportunity" - Anjum Chopra on Shubman Gill representing India in all formats
Former Indian Women's skipper Anjum Chopra believes young Shubman Gill deserves a chance in all three formats given that he has done reasonably well in recent times.
Incidentally, many fans and former cricketers have slammed the All India Senior Selection Committee for mixing players for different formats. It came after the Chetan Sharma-led body picked Prithvi Shaw for T20Is despite his stellar performance in the Ranji Trophy, while they selected Suryakumar Yadav, who has been spectacular in the shortest format, in the Test squad.
Citing the example of Gill, Chopra reckoned that if a player is performing well in one format, he deserves to get a nod in the other formats as well.
"Actually, if a player starts performing in a format like Shubman Gill, he did well in Test cricket," she said in a video uploaded on her YouTube channel.
"He then got opportunities in ODIs. Although he took some time, he slowly showed investment and did well for the Indian team not only in the one-day format but also in the T20s. When you are investing in one player and he is delivering, it's obvious that he will get the first opportunity."
Chopra further stated that Shaw is extremely skillful and will get his opportunity at the right time.
"It’s not that Prithvi Shaw didn’t get the opportunity, in fact, he was the first player from that U19 World Cup squad to come into the Indian team," she continued. "I'm very happy that he is scoring runs and I know he is extremely talented and he will get his due. But this mix is because if a player does well in one format, he also deserves chances in other formats."
Shaw was named in India's squad for the recently concluded three-match T20I home series against New Zealand. However, he had to warm the benches as the Indian think tank preferred Gill and Ishan Kishan for the opener's role.
Shubman Gill named in India's squad for the first 2 Tests against Australia
Preps in full swing 👌 👌
#TeamIndia hit the ground running for the #INDvAUS Test series opener in Nagpur 👍 👍 https://t.co/LwJUGZ5hPp
Shubman Gill has been picked as the third opener for the upcoming home Test series against Australia. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will get underway in Nagpur on Thursday, February 9.
However, Gill is likely to bat in the middle order as well given the untimely injury to Shreyas Iyer, who has been ruled out of the first Test. He will hope to continue his white-ball form in red-ball cricket.
The cricketer from Punjab has so far played 13 Tests, scoring 736 runs at an average of 32, including a century and four fifties.
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