Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Sharma bluntly defends Shubman Gill after mixed Australia tour

Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and young opener Abhishek Sharma defended Shubman Gill after his mixed tour of Australia. Shubman Gill has been under the radar for his not-so-impressive performance with the bat ever since he returned to India’s setup.

Gill failed to live up to the expectations in the Asia Cup 2025 after being elevated as India’s T20I vice-captain and could manage only 127 runs in the UAE. His bat was also silent during his debut series as India’s ODI captain in Australia.

Suryakumar Yadav and Abhishek Sharma defend Shubman Gill amid criticism over mixed T20I performances

He managed only 9, 10, and 24 in three ODIs as India lost the series to Australia. The right-handed batter could not even make a significant impact in the recent five-match T20I series against Australia as well. Gill has scored 37*, 5, 15, 46, and 29* in five innings.

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Well, the Men in Blue managed to clinch the T20I series after the final game was abandoned in Brisbane. After the match, Abhishek said that his partnership with Gill has evolved into a well-balanced and explosive combination when he was asked about his teammate’s performance in the format. He called them a fearsome opening duo for India in the T20I cricket.

Abhishek Sharma calls his partnership with Shubman Gill “Fire and Fire” after the T20I series win

Abhishek Sharma told reporters in Brisbane (as quoted by RevSportz journalist Subhayan Chakraborty), “My pairing with Shubman Gill is fire and fire, not fire and ice anymore. Look at the way he was batting today.”

On the other hand, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav hailed the opening duo, dismissing concerns over Gill’s strike rate. Shubman Gill finished the T20I series as the second leading run scorer with 132 runs, but his runs came at a strike rate of 136.08.

Suryakumar said after the match, “They both want to match each other's strike rate.”

Abhishek Sharma shines as India clinches T20I series in Australia

India sealed the five-match T20I series against Australia with a 2-1 margin after the fifth and final game at The Gabba ended in a no-result due to rain. Earlier, the first T20I was also washed out, and then Australia had won the second game, but India made a stunning comeback and won the series.

Only 4.5 overs were possible, during which openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill stitched a quick 50-run stand at The Gabba. But lightning struck, followed by rain that forced the match to be called off after a two-hour delay.

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Abhishek survived two early drops and broke the world record for the fastest batter to reach 1,000 T20I runs in terms of balls faced. The left-handed batter also achieved another milestone, becoming the second-fastest Indian batter to score 1000 runs in T20 Internationals.

Only Virat Kohli has achieved the feat in fewer innings (27). Abhishek took 28 innings to reach the milestone in the shorter format of the game. Abhishek was adjudged Player of the Series for being the leading run-scorer in the T20I series with 163 runs at a strike rate of 161, including a half-century.

India extends 13-year unbeaten T20I run in Australia

On the other hand, it was Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir's fifth consecutive bilateral T20I series win as captain-coach.

With a 2-1 T20I series win in Brisbane, India continued their dominance in T20I cricket in Australia, extending an unbeaten streak in bilateral series to 13 years. Since their only T20I series loss in Australia in 2008, India has not lost any bilateral T20I series Down Under.