After another disappointing end to an ICC tournament where India crashed out in the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, the focus has since switched to 50-over cricket. India will host the ODI World Cup in 2023 and the Men in Blue would look to bridge the gaps in their ODI squad in the 10 or so months remaining before the quadrennial tournament. India's preparations, however, haven't got off to a perfect start as they lost the three-match ODI series against New Zealand 1-0 and then suffered a tough loss against Bangladesh in the first ODI on December 04 (Sunday).
The Indian team management and Rohit Sharma are looking to find answers to several questions, one of them being the opening combination with young star Shubman Gill making a strong case for himself. Shikhar Dhawan is a proven match-winner for the Men in Blue in 50-over cricket and his numbers in ICC tournaments are fantastic.
Having said that, the southpaw has been struggling to find his best form of late and Gill's display in ODIs has only added to India's problem of plenty. Gill has made 687 runs in 15 ODIs for India so far with the help of one century and four half-centuries at a strike rate of 99.10.
There have never been any doubts about Gill's prodigious talent but former India captain and legendary batter, Sunil Gavaskar reckons that the right-handed batter needs to convert fifties into hundreds to stake a claim for his selection in the playing XI.
"You are always looking for a left-right combination. Shikhar (Dhawan) brings that left-handedness plus the loads of experience that he has got. I think he has a point or two to prove in the sense that he probably might be saying that with the kind of record that he has in T20 cricket he should be playing that as well. So I think it will be a great opportunity with these matches to show that he belongs to this squad and not just when the regulars are away," Gavaskar said on Sony Sports.
"This means that someone like Shubman Gill will have to scored hundreds and hundreds. Not the 50s and 60s that he is getting. He is a terrific talent, make no mistake. He is a rare talent. But he is not doing justice to his talent by getting out in the 50s or 60s. Yes sometimes I understand that you are kind of trying to up the scoring rate but he has got to convert those 50s and 60s into impact hundreds and 120. Those knocks make a difference to the result," he added.
India lost the first ODI against Bangladesh by one wicket in a nerve-jangling contest. The second match is scheduled to be played on December 07 (Wednesday).
