Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa hails Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal by comparing them with legendary cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly after India defeated Sri Lanka in the 3 match T20I series. He said that watching Gill and Jaiswal batting together reminded him of India's legendary opening duo of Tendulkar and Ganguly.
Both Gill and Jaiswal opened for India in the recently concluded three-match T20I series. However, Gill missed the second game due to a spasm in his neck.
“I do see them (Gill-Jaiswal), and when I look at them, they remind me of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar going out together, where their games kind of complimented each other. Their strategies complimented each other; that’s what I see when I see these two go out to bat together,” said Uthappa on Sony Sports Network.
Jaiswal and Gill have opened together in nine innings so far and scored 516 runs at an average of 64.50 with two-century stands, as well as amassing two half-century stands together. Meanwhile, the legendary pair of Ganguly and Tendulkar are the most historic opening pair in the history of ODIs. They have scored 6609 runs from 136 innings at an average of 49.32 with 21-century partnerships and 23 half-centuries together.
Uthappa also backed Jaiswal to seal his place in the ODIs, grabbing on the little chances he would get in ODIs. Jaiswal, who is an opener alongside Rohit Sharma in Tests and Shubman Gill in T20Is, has yet to make his debut in ODI. Currently, Rohit Sharma is opening in batting with Shubman Gill.
“I honestly feel when he (Jaiswal) gets that opportunity in ODI cricket, he will seal that spot so quickly because after Test cricket and T20I cricket, ODI cricket is going to be so much easier for him. Because he will feel like I have all the time in the world to be able to score runs,” said the 38-year-old.
Jaiswal has scored 1028 runs at an average of 68.53 with three hundreds and four fifties. On the other hand, in 22 T20Is, he has 713 runs from 21 innings at an average of 37.52, with one hundred and five fifties to his name.
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