Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma will return to action when the Indian cricket team kicks off their Asia Cup 2023 campaign against Pakistan on September 2. Both Indian openers are not part of India's ongoing T20I series against Ireland but are expected to play a crucial role in the upcoming tournament in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Ahead of the Asia Cup, Gill shared his thoughts on his partnership with Rohit across formats and also revealed the differences while approaching the game in the powerplay overs. Gill highlighted Rohit's attacking-minded approach from the start of the innings and compared it with his cautious style of play which results in a balanced combination.
"I think because his (Rohit's) targeted areas are a bit different (to mine)," Shubman Gill was quoted as saying by the ICC on August 23. "He loves to go aerial in the Powerplay, and I'm someone with likes to find the gaps and keep getting those boundaries, and he's someone who likes to hit sixes. So I think that combination works well."
Gill recently established himself as India's first-choice opening partner for Rohit Sharma across formats and is tipped to be India's prime opener in future games. Gill and Rohit have pulled off 685 runs at an average of 76.11 in nine ODIs played together and their average boosts to 85.37 while opening an innings. The youngster praised his captain for giving players full freedom to play their natural games and added that he feels great to open with his captain.
"It feels great to be able to open with him (Rohit), especially knowing that all the focus is on him. He's someone who likes the other batters to go and just express himself and play the way I want to play the game. So in that nature, he gives the players full freedom for how they want to express their game," Gill added.
