Aakash Chopra Lavishes Praise On Shubman Gill After The Latter Scores An Impressive Half-Century In The Practice Match

Former India opener, Aakash Chopra has heaped high praise on exciting prospect Shubman Gill after the youngster recorded a well-composed half-century against Australia A in the second practice game.

In the warm-up match at the SCG, Gill scored 65 runs from 78 balls and built a 104 runs partnership with Mayank Agarwal. Batting at number 3, Gill had to come in as early as the second over because Prithvi Shaw was dismissed cheaply once again.

Gill is coming on the back of a fantastic IPL season with the bat for the Kolkata Knight Riders where he ended up as the highest run-scorer for the team. The Punjab-born batsman averages a brilliant 69 in first-class cricket and will be vying for a spot in the Indian Test team in the 4-match series against Australia.

What matters is the runs you make: Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra opined that Gill played in a dominating way coming in to bat early on after Shaw’s wicket. He is impressed by the back foot and front foot shots from the right-hander. However, Chopra feels that Gill’s technique could backfire on him in conditions where there is extra seam and swing movement.

In his YouTube video, Aakash Chopra said, “He almost walked in as an opener as he did in the first innings. He played in a dominating fashion. Some of his shots are very good, his backfoot punch is a special shot and the on-the-rise shot is also very good. He stays beside the line so that he gets the time to open his arms. It can be a double-edged sword if the sideways movement is more.”

The 43-year-old understands that that is the playing style of Shubman Gill and with which he has achieved so much success at a very young age. The former batsman asserts that at the end it is only the runs a batsman score takes the attention- and Gill has done well in the two practice matches to make a claim for an opening spot.

Besides, Aakash Chopra maintains that Gill and Shaw would be competing for a position at the top to partner Mayank Agarwal. India and Australia take on each other in the first Test match which commences on 17th December in Adelaide with a day-night pink-ball contest.

“But in the end, everyone has their own playing style but how many runs you make is important. It matters what is the quality of your runs against quality opposition. If you are playing almost as an opener and it is a seaming pitch with the pink ball, then he is making runs although his style of playing may be different.

“If you include both the innings, he has scored more than 100 runs in this encounter. So, the question will be with whom will you open with Mayank Agarwal – Shubman Gill or Prithvi Shaw,” Aakash Chopra added.

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