New Delhi, Feb 21, 2025-
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes vice-captain Shubman Gill gives the impression of someone who will be around international for 10-15 more years, something which Shreyas Iyer doesn’t give vibes of.
Chasing 229 against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Stadium, Gill hit an unbeaten 101 off 129 balls, laced with nine fours and two sixes, and ensured India got a six-wicket win by completing the chase with 21 balls to spare.
“He (Gill) is batting at the right position to make a huge impact. When he gets a hundred, like today, it seems like there is plenty left in the tank. It was like 60% of Shubman Gill is enough to get a hundred like this and he stays till the end.”
“That is the difference between Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill that Gill will take you right till the end. He is somebody who you think is going to be around for 10-15 years. Shreyas Iyer, despite his obvious talent, doesn’t give you that impression,” Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo Match Day show.
Manjrekar also said he was in awe of Gill’s two sixes clearing the boundary ropes with ease. “Some of the shots he played, the good-length ball he hit and it went into second tier… the big game is at his beck and call. Can he be better in 50-over cricket as a batter? I don’t think so, what can be better than this?”
Though Gill hit his slowest ODI hundred, it was worth its weight in gold for India to go into the clash against Pakistan on Sunday with more confidence after overcoming the challenge from Bangladesh on a sluggish Dubai pitch.
“He’s got the class to do it (change gears). India are blessed with (a top three) who are also Test batters, so they can play different gears. Yashasvi Jaiswal, when he comes in eventually, is also a Test batter. So if the ball is swinging around in overseas conditions, they have the ability to see the new ball through and then handle the various situations.”
“Shubman Gill is that kind of a player, he is not one-dimensional, he has all the gears and we saw him do that today as well. He is a guy at the top of his 50-over-cricket prowess and he does it very calmly. There is an air of dominance and surety with the way he bats and finishes games.”
“And also the ability to nick off singles, keep that scoreboard ticking. It is not that he plays the sweep shot a lot or the dab. He goes very traditional and loves to keep the bat straight. Even when he is playing the pull shot, the bat comes down very straight.”
“A lot of his singles would be back-foot punches to long-on instead of playing just with soft hands. A guy who can get singles at will, can hit a six at will, has got a reasonably good defence for 50-over cricket, he’s the complete player at the moment,” concluded Manjrekar.(Agency)
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