It is safe to say that Shubhman Gill is the next big thing in Indian cricket. He is considered as one of the most talented youngsters going around in international cricket. He impressed one and all in the recently concluded Border-Gavasker Trophy 2020-2021. However he hasn’t really been at his best and has struggled for runs of late. In an ideal scenario he’d be backed by his selectors to come good, however India’s bench strength is second to none and a lot of worthy openers are waiting in the line to replace him. So does this mean that Gill doesn’t really have much time left? Is the end nigh for Gill? Is time running out for Gill?
India lost opener Shubhman Gill early after bundling out England for 205 on the opening day of the fourth and final Test here on Thursday. India was 24 for one at stumps with a watchful Rohit Sharma (8) and ever-steady Cheteshwar Pujara (15) at the crease. Gill could not even open his account, losing his wicket to James Anderson in the third ball of the innings. Prior to this series, The cricketer scored 91 at a counter-attacking pace after he losing his experienced partner Rohit Sharma within the opening hour of the final day. With Gill’s Day 5 blitzkrieg, the young Indian opener also achieved a rare batting landmark among visiting players in Australia. He was praised by each and every cricket pundit. Post that series he hasn’t really been at his best. He got starts in the first Test against Chennai and faltered. Gill’s exemplary show with the bat earned him a spot in India’s squad for the first two England Tests. Ahead of the upcoming series, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has cautioned against putting ‘too much pressure’ on the 21-year-old batsman. Speaking on Star Sports’ show Game Plan, Gambhir backed Gill to open the batting for India against England but also stated that the expectations from Gill after an outstanding debut in Australia can’t be too high.
“He (Gill) should be opening with Rohit Sharma, no doubt about it. But let’s not jump the gun. We just can’t put someone really high up there. Yes, he has got the talent but he needs to keep his head down because international cricket can be tough,” Gambhir said. Gill has a stiff competition in the form of Mayank Agarwal. Agarwal, pretty much like Gill had a superb start to his Test career after succeeding in Australia. It would be a shame if the selectors discard Gill so early as he’s been a bright prospect as well as a talented bloke, someone who can be India’s future mainstay. Having said this, if Gill does fail in the second innings then people would definitely start questioning his spot in the team.