‘Abhishek Sharma – Shubman Gill combination feels like a table fan during a storm,’ says Sadagoppan Ramesh

“The powerplay is the most important phase with the bat in a T20 game. Depending on who the openers are and based on the start they give, if the rest of the batting lineup capitalises on it, the end score can be formidable. If a player like Abhishek Sharma maximises that phase, it transforms into powerful play. Yet if he gets out, it turns into a powercut. So Abhishek Sharma will be the biggest X-factor for India in the T20 World Cup,” said Ramesh.

Gill was made the vice-captain of the T20I side earlier this year during the Asia Cup. Once the decision to promote him as vice-captain was made, it became inevitable that Gill would be part of all the T20I games India were playing, and to accommodate him at the top, Sanju Samson has been pushed down the order. However, the form of Gill, the T20I player, has been up and down, and Samson was in prime form in his international career before his position was shuffled. Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif also claimed that India is looking at Gill as the next captain in the shorter version of the game, and that is a probable reason Samson lost his spot as an opener.

“If Sanju Samson were playing, there would be no confusion, but with Shubman Gill as vice-captain playing in all matches, Sanju Samson seems sidelined. Jitesh Sharma is seen as a better finisher at number five or six than Sanju, which works in Sharma’s favor. But because Gill is being groomed as a future captain and player, Sanju has lost his spot. Sanju’s record is excellent, strike rate of around 150. But they are backing players by the batting number position now,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.