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Aakash Chopra, a former batter for India, has praised young batsman Shubman Gill for his outstanding game knowledge and urged him to become the next big thing in world cricket. Gill, who debuted for India in 2019, was just promoted to the team’s captain in white-ball cricket after proving to be an essential member in all three formats. As was the case with former India captain MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli when they first came into the scene, Chopra believes Gill has the innate ability to sense the pulse of the game.
“The biggest quality of Shubman is that he understands the pulse of the game. Some players are very quick to understand. Some understand eventually. Some never understand. So, the greats you see, they understand very quickly. So, Virat Kohli understood the pulse of the game very quickly. Mahendra Singh Dhoni understood the pulse of batting in ODIs very quickly,” said Aakash in a podcast with Raj Shamani.
“Shubman Gill understands the pulse of the game. He understands 100% where the game is going. Where can I go? Where can I take it? How can it run according to me? He is absolutely brilliant. He is top-class about himself,” he added.
As part of the BCCI’s workload management policy, Gill is one of the well-known players who will be rested for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, which begins on October 7. Along with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the top order of the Indian team, Gill, ranked third in Test matches, is set to play all ten Tests this season. In addition to Gill, a few other significant players will be rested in anticipation of the three-match Test series against New Zealand.
India’s next overseas campaign will begin on September 19 with a two-Test series against Bangladesh in Chennai, with the second game to be played in Kanpur on September 27.
“Yes, Shubman will be rested for the Bangladesh T20I series. If you look at the fixture, the three T20Is will be played on October 7 (Gwalior), 10 (Delhi) and 13 (Hyderabad). Now first Test vs New Zealand starts October 16.
“So with a turnaround of three days, it is important to give Gill a break,” a BCCI source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.