With the ODI World Cup on the horizon, the participating teams are looking to finalise their squads and plans, work out combinations and get their balance right.
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For India, much of the answers to these questions came with the announcement of the squad for the Asia Cup, which has been seen as the curtain-raiser for the home World Cup. The group selected for this tournament will be largely the same selection pool for the World Cup, as confirmed by chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar on Monday.
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There have been questions over the No 4 spot, and the role of all-rounders in India's XI but one aspect of the team that has been solid is that of the opening pair; Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.
How have Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill performed together for India?
When opening the innings for India in ODIs, Gill and Rohit rank 14th for total runs scored as a pair since the end of the last World Cup. This may not seem impressive at first, but that is no mean feat considering they have only played 8 innings together.
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In fact, of opening pairs who have batted together at least 5 times since the last World Cup, Gill and Rohit have the highest average, at a stunning 85.37.
| Partners | Country | Innings | Runs | Average | Highest Partnership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma & Shubman Gill | India | 8 | 683 | 85.4 | 212 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne & Pathum Nissanka | Sri Lanka | 10 | 742 | 82.4 | 190 |
| Shikhar Dhawan & Shubman Gill | India | 11 | 762 | 76.2 | 192* |
| Kyle Coetzer & George Munsey | Scotland | 5 | 260 | 65.0 | 157* |
| Shai Hope & Evin Lewis | West Indies | 13 | 688 | 57.3 | 192 |
"Rohit Sharma gives the players full freedom for how they want to express their game": Shubman Gill
In an interview with ICC, Gill spoke about why he felt the partnership between himself and Rohit Sharma could thrive, saying,
“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 went on to explain that he felt they made it tough for bowlers as Rohit likes to go aerial in the Powerplay while he prefers to find gaps to hit boundaries, saying that the "combination works well".
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What next for Team India?
India take on Ireland in the final T20I of their bilateral series in Dublin on Wednesday. Rohit and Gill are not part of that squad, and will be in action during the Asia Cup. India's first match is against Pakistan, on 2 September.
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