Gill impresses Indian cricket captain Rohit

It may be premature to say that Shubman Gill has nailed down India’s opening spot in the Cricket World Cup on home soil later this year, but skipper Rohit Sharma has been impressed with the 23-year-old’s understanding of the role.

With veteran Shikhar Dhawan’s patchy form ruling him out of the competition, India have zeroed in on Gill and Ishan Kishan as possible opening partners for Rohit.

Gill has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and his 112 against New Zealand on Tuesday was his third century in four innings, including a double hundred in the series opener in Hyderabad.

Gill and fellow centurion Rohit put on a 212-run stand to set up a 3-0 series as India ousted New Zealand for the highest one-day team tally.

“He understands his batting, he paces his innings well,” Rohit told reporters after their 90-run win in Indore.

“That’s what you want in one-day cricket. You want to go big, you want to go deep in your innings. He’s shown that. He’s got big hundreds.”

Gill hit a career-best 208 against New Zealand on a flat track in Hyderabad and was named player of the series for a three-innings total of 360.

“No matter how flat the pitch is, it’s not easy to get a double hundred. In that game, the next best score (made by his teammate) was 34,” Rohit said.

“It shows that he was calculating and he knows he has to hit deep.

“A set batsman has to bat as long as possible… He has matured a lot in the way he thinks about the game and the way he approaches the game.”

Rohit’s 101 off 85 balls was his 30th ODI century, bringing him level with Australia’s Ricky Ponting.

Only Indians Sachin Tendulkar (49) and Virat Kohli (46) have scored more centuries in this format.

“I just want to play my cricket, enjoy my cricket and bat the way I am batting at the moment,” Rohit said.

“When the numbers come out, they look good, but I don’t think any cricketer plays with numbers.”