Shubman Gill has to bide his time little bit, number 3 might be a spot: Scott Styris

Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris felt that Shubman Gill might still have to wait for his chances at the top of the order despite being in stupendous form on West Indies and Zimbabwe tours. The 22-year-old recently brought up his maiden century against Zimbabwe in the third ODI and has had a stellar run in the format with an average of 71.3 in nine innings so far.

Gill looked in complete control in his stay at the crease and has grown in heaps and bounds in the last two years across various assignments. He finished as the fifth highest run-getter in IPL 2022 with 483 runs in 16 games and played a vital role in his franchise Gujarat Titans’ title-winning campaign. Despite his recent performances, Gill might fall back in the pecking order once the regular opener Rohit Sharma is back at the top to partner with Shikhar Dhawan.

I think Shubman Gill’s got a huge future in front of him for this Indian side: Scott Styris

Styris answered to query on Gill stating that the opening position is one of the competitive places and explained various aspects that might come into play while considering the first choice opener. He highlighted that past performances in ICC events would be considered and Gill cannot be handed the green signal straightaway.

“That is such a tough question and the reason I say that is because you’ve got four or five players who could all open up and do a terrific job. The question you have is, do you simply pick on who’s in the best form at that time, or does there what they’ve done in the past count for anything? What have they done in the ICC events? All of these things come into the equation. How much of a future do you think Shubman Gill’s got?” said Styris on SPORTS18’s daily sports news show ‘SPORTS OVER THE TOP.’

Styris still remained optimistic about Gill’s future and thinks it is in good hands at the moment after his recent knocks and noted him applying pressure on the veteran batter Dhawan. He reckoned about India’s liking for left-hand options at the top and concluded that Shubman Gill will have to keep performing the same way for a long time or grab a chance at number three.

“I’m with Saba. I think he’s got a huge future in front of him for this Indian side. So yes, that’s the answer. He’s putting pressure on Shikhar Dhawan. Does he go over the top of them? I still think they love that left-handed option. There aren’t too many top-order left-handers who are taking the game by the scruff of the neck in Indian cricket as an opener and therefore Shikhar Dhawan has that going in his favour so maybe Shubman Gill has to bide his time a little bit or as we saw number 3 might be a spot for him,” he added.