"T20 cricket is not ideal for him" - Aakash Chopra on importance of remaining two T20Is for Shubman Gill

Aakash Chopra believes the remaining two T20Is against Sri Lanka are important for Shubman Gill as it is not the ideal format for him.

Gill scored seven runs off five deliveries on his T20I debut in the first game against the Lankan Lions at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, January 3. He played an ungainly pull across the line against Maheesh Theekshana and was caught plumb in front of the wickets.

While previewing the second T20I in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted the game's importance for Shubman Gill, elaborating:

"I feel these are very important matches for Shubman Gill. You might say that he just made his debut and you are saying that these are important games. They are important because I am willing to put my hand up and say that when I see Shubman Gill, I see him as a long-format player. The way he plays, T20 cricket is not ideal for him."

The former Indian opener feels the Punjab batter is more suited to the longer formats of the game, stating:

"I see him playing Test cricket for India for many years, he might become the captain as well. He will play ODI cricket for India for many years. He might eventually become the captain there as well."

Gill has been at his prolific best in ODI cricket lately, having scored 638 runs at an excellent average of 70.88 and an impressive strike rate of 102.57 in the 12 games he played last year. Although he does not have a good overall record in Test cricket, he scored his maiden ton in the first game of the recently concluded series against Bangladesh.

"He will have to prove naysayers like me wrong" - Aakash Chopra on Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill played a few crucial knocks for the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022. [P/C: ipolt20.com]

While observing that Gill needs to prove his critics wrong, Chopra did not have too many complaints about Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, saying:

"So he (Gill) has just made his debut but he will have to make the best of his opportunities. He will have to prove naysayers like me wrong. Ishan Kishan is batting well, so I will not say anything to him. Suryakumar Yadav got out once, will not get out every time."

The renowned commentator wants Sanju Samson, who has now been ruled out of the last two T20Is, to grab his chances, explaining:

"I will not say anything there as well but Sanju Samson. Sanju Samson's fan army is very good, loves him a lot, we all like Sanju but Sanju will have to help himself. No. 4 is probably a little low for him, he is probably a top-three player but there is no chance to get a place before No. 4. So you will have to make the best at this number."

NEWS - Sanju Samson ruled out of the remainder of T20I series.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Jitesh Sharma as replacement for Sanju Samson.

More details here - bcci.tv/articles/2023/… #INDvSL @mastercardindia

On the flip side, Chopra picked Deepak Hooda as a huge takeaway from the first T20I. He lauded the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) player for playing a game-defining knock while batting at No. 6.