Gill smashed 208 runs off 149 deliveries as the Men in Blue set a massive 350-run target for the Black Caps in Hyderabad on Wednesday, January 18. Their bowlers then bowled out the visitors for 337 to eke out a narrow 12-run win.
During a discussion on the Star Sports show ‘Match Point’, Bangar was asked whether he thinks Shubman Gill has sealed the opener debate with his double ton, to which he responded:
However, the former Indian batting coach reckons Gill, Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma might now be the only three remaining contenders to be India’s openers at the World Cup later this year, saying:
Kishan smoked a blazing double century in the final ODI against Bangladesh but had to make way for Gill at the top of the order in the subsequent series against Sri Lanka. With KL Rahul unavailable for the ODIs against the Kiwis, the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter played in the middle order in the first game but managed only five runs off 14 deliveries.
“Who knows what can happen” - Sanjay Manjrekar on Shubman Gill as India’s opener at the World Cup
Sanjay Manjrekar also concurred with Bangar’s views that the call might be too early from a World Cup perspective, reasoning:
However, the former Indian batter reckons Gill might have done enough to seal the deal, saying:
Gill has a stupendous record in ODI cricket, having amassed 1102 runs at an outstanding average of 68.87 and an impressive strike rate of 109.00 in 19 games.
Kishan has scored 482 runs at an excellent average of 48.20 in 11 matches, but 210 of those runs have come in one knock and he has been found slightly wanting against swing and seam at times.
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