Former Australia captain and explosive opening batter, Aaron Finch reflected on the possibility of India playing their ODI World Cup opener against Australia without the in-form Shubman Gill. The stylish Indian batter is suffering from dengue and his participation in the India vs Australia game on October 8 (Sunday) in Chennai is in serious jeopardy. Finch reckons that the Baggy Greens would be relieved if Gill doesn't feature in the match as the opening batter boasts the ability to score runs of good deliveries and is equally good against spinners, left-arm pacers and right-arm fast bowlers.
"What's going to stand out in this World Cup is the depth of these squads. Most teams are going with an idea what their ideal XI is but that doesn't always go to plan. There are injuries, fatigue as it's a long tournament. Still, India would be pretty comfortable. The difference will be the fear factor Shubman Gill puts into the Australian team," Finch said on Star Sports ahead of the match between Pakistan and Netherlands.
"He is someone who Australia at times really struggle to bowl to in any format because he has no weaknesses. He is somebody who can hit your best balls. He dominates spin, left-arm pacer, right-arm pace so I think that will be the only difference. Australia will be a little more comfortable bowling to Ishan Kishan in the Powerplay," he added.
In case Gill fails to recover in time, Ishan Kishan looks set to open the batting alongside captain Rohit Sharma. Finch said that the Australia bowlers would be happy to bowl to the left-handed batter, who has 'a few technical faults' in his game.
"Starc and Hazelwood. I would go with that selection if I have to bowl to the left-hander. The outswing to Ishan because I still think he has a few technical faults he still hasn't quite ironed out over the last while. His front foot closes up quite a bit so if he can swing it early, they can get him. Once he gets in, he moves beautifully. But just those initial balls though, he tends to get vulnerable," the ex-Aussie skipper added.
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