In the fifth T20I game against England, Abhishek Sharma smashed the most astonishing knock of 135 on 54 balls, becoming the top scorer of the T20I series. In doing so, Abhishek created a record of being the highest individual score by an Indian in T20Is, breaking the record of India’s ODI vice-captain and Shubman Gill. The sparkle of Abhishek’s glorious innings gives rise to yet another competition for an opening slot in limited-overs cricket for India, following the remarkable debut of Yashasvi Jaiswal in Test cricket. Of course, with the emergence of Abhishek and Jaiswal, Gill is falling under pressure to make it to the top of the order, but the 25-year-old insisted that there is no “toxic competition” between the three.
“Abhishek is a childhood friend of mine. Jaiswal is another friend: I don’t think there’s any toxic competition between us. Obviously if you play for your country, every match should be equally important for you; no, I hope he doesn’t perform.’
When you’re playing for your country and for the team, if one individually does well, congratulations are in order,” said Gill.
By virtue of more experience and past performances, he is expected to partner Rohit Sharma at the top order in the Champions Trophy 2025.
The spotlight now has fallen on senior players Rohit and Kohli, who have of late struggled in their batting.
Gill, though, quickly pointed out that the captain’s blistering form in white-ball cricket was pivotal in India making it to the finals in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Rohit also scored two fifties during the series against Sri Lanka.
“Rohit Bhai’s batting has been a real trend setter for us in ODIs for the last year and a half. Taking momentum early on and making it one-sided from ball one, it makes things easier for the non-striker or any batsmen coming in, and I think it’s really helped this team a lot.”
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