Aakash Chopra reckons that in-form Team India opener Shubman Gill will have a highly memorable 2023 World Cup at home. The former batter predicted that Gill will score at least two hundreds in the tournament.
The Men in Blue will begin their 2023 World Cup campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8. While there will be high expectations from seniors like skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah, the team will also have plenty of hopes from Gill, who has been in stupendous form over the last year and a half.
In a video on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked [1:50] the Indian opener as one of the batters to watch out for during the upcoming World Cup.
“This tournament could be Shubman Gill’s. In all fairness, the tournament will belong to the top three batters. The good ones will make a lot of records. Shubman Gill will score a lot of runs. I feel he will score at least two hundreds; I won’t be surprised if he hits three as well. One of them could be a daddy hundred if he doesn’t get tired. Gill is a quality player and this World Cup could be his,” he opined.
Chopra also praised the 24-year-old for working on his apparent weakness against left-arm slow bowling.
“At one point of time, it seemed like he gets stuck against left-arm spin. But he showed he can take that on as well during his last hundred in the Asia Cup. It was his best ODI knock in my opinion,” he added.
Gill has a terrific record in one-dayers. In 35 matches, he has smashed 1917 runs at an average of 66.10 and a strike rate of 102.84, with six hundreds and nine fifties.
“He will control the game in the middle overs” – Chopra on Mohammad Rizwan
While Chopra maintained that the top three batters will dominate the World Cup, he backed Pakistan’s keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, who bats at No. 4 in ODIs, to score lots of runs.
“Mohammad Rizwan is an interesting one. He is a very effective player and plays spin very well. His best comes in the powerplay when he opens in T20s. But Pakistan need a good batter at No. 4 [in ODIs]. I think Pakistan will be competitive in the World Cup and Rizwan could have a big role to play in it. He will control the game in the middle overs and I feel he will have a good World Cup,” the 46-year-old opined.
Rizwan has featured in 65 ODIs, scoring 1693 runs at an average of 36.80, with two hundreds and 12 fifties.
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Edited by Renin Wilben Albert