Young India batsman Shubman Gill is having a terrific time in ODI cricket this year. With the seniors rested for most of the ODI series this year, as the focus was on T20 cricket, Gill was given more opportunities in the 50-over format and the 23-year-old has grabbed those opportunities with both hands, so much that he is now pushing for a case to be included in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India later next year.
Before that, in the ongoing ODI series in New Zealand, he has now surpassed the legendary openers Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma in a list, and this is further a testament to his rise in ODI cricket in 2022.
Gill has been opening with Shikhar Dhawan in the past few ODI series, and he might even push Dhawan out of the eleven when Rohit Sharma returns.
In the ongoing rubber against the Kiwis, Gill has registered scores of 50 and 45* in two ODIs.
In the first ODI, he scored 50 runs off 65 balls and partnered with Dhawan in a big partnership of 124 runs. In the second ODI, Gill remained unbeaten on 45 runs off 42 balls, having creamed 4 fours and a six before the rain arrived and no more play was possible and the match was washed out after 12.5 overs of India’s innings.
Shubman Gill goes past Tendulkar, and Rohit with the best average among Indian openers:
Gill made a new and big achievement after his 45* in the second ODI. Among Indian openers with a minimum of 10 ODI innings at the top, Shubman Gill now has the highest average of 70. He went over Tendulkar’s average of 48 and Rohit Sharma’s average of 56 as Indian opener in ODIs.
However, both Tendulkar (340) and Rohit (147) have played a lot more innings than Gill, and as he plays more the average will correct itself and lower down. This, though, shows that the 23-year-old has a bright future at the international level.
Average Of Indian Openers In At Least 10 ODI Innings:
1 – Shubman Gill – 61.27
2 – Rohit Sharma – 56.55
3 – Sachin Tendulkar – 48.29
4 – Shikhar Dhawan – 44.98
