When asked about his hopes of making the 2023 World Cup squad, Shubman Gill responded that he is not planning too far ahead and that his main priority is to help the team out whenever he has the chance. The opener for India has been in excellent form in ODIs; on Sunday, in Hamilton’s rain-delayed second ODI against New Zealand, Gill scored 45 from 42 balls.
Even though Gill made his ODI debut in 2019, the 23-year-old managed to establish himself in the 50-over format by 2022. In 11 games, he has scored 625 runs, including a century and 4 fifties. After falling short of the milestone in an ODI in the West Indies earlier in the year by two runs, Gill finally hit his first ODI hundred in Zimbabwe in August.
With his skipper and opening partner Shikhar Dhawan, Gill scored fifty to start the ODI series in New Zealand. Their partnership added up to 125 runs. He was able to get going amid rain breaks in the second ODI on Sunday in Hamilton and finished unbeaten on 45, putting together a 66-run partnership with newly promoted Suryakumar Yadav.
The young batter, who is considered one of the contenders for the top order for the home 2023 World Cup, was left out of the ODI team for the tour of Bangladesh. Although Gill has a lot of competition for the role of opener, the young batter said he is not dwelling too much on his prospects of making the World Cup.
“I am not looking actually that far. My main intention now is to be able to make the most of the opportunities I get. As far this series is concerned, that is what I am trying to do. I am trying to score big and make some good contributions to the team,” Gill told the press in Hamilton after the 2nd ODI.
“My mindset as a young player when I am given a break or not picked, then I look at playing domestic cricket. It’s not like an Indian cricketer sits idle for weeks if he is not picked. So a break gives a good opportunity work on your strengths and weakness or play domestic cricket,” he added.
The series finale between India and New Zealand will be played on Wednesday in Christchurch, and Gill will be hoping to contribute again in a big way.
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