NEW DELHI: India skipper captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday expressed hope that Shubman Gill will maintain his excellent form into the ICC Champions Trophy.
India, considered tournament favorites, will face Bangladesh in their opening match at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday, following their recent 3-0 ODI series victory against England.
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A highly anticipated match against Pakistan is scheduled for Sunday.
Gill, who serves as vice-captain, earned the player of the series title against England, scoring 259 runs with one century and two half-centuries, recovering from his previous underwhelming Test series in Australia.
“Gill is a very classy player, there was never a doubt about his ability in this squad,” Rohit said of his deputy.
“We tend to mix formats and I don’t think that’s the right way to judge any player. With Gill, we know the numbers are crazy, he has been superb for us in the last three-four years.”
He added, “Obviously there is a reason that he has been elevated to be the vice-captain of the team as well, hopefully he has a great tournament and it eventually will help us achieve the things that we are looking to achieve.”
All eyes are on opening batsmen Rohit and star player Virat Kohli, as discussions about their future continue ahead of the 50-over tournament.
Both players struggled during India’s 3-1 Test defeat in Australia but showed improvement in the England ODIs, with 37-year-old Rohit scoring 119 in the second match and Kohli making 52 in the third.
“The key to have success in this format, your top three-four-five batsmen need to get that big score for you to post a big score eventually,” said Rohit.
“So I think our top four batters are quite experienced and we know that once they are set, once they are in, they like to get those big runs.”
The team’s morale has been boosted by the return of pace bowler Mohammed Shami, especially with Jasprit Bumrah sidelined due to a back injury.
Shami, 34, made his international cricket comeback in the England white-ball series after more than a year’s absence due to a heel injury, taking five wickets across two T20 and two ODI matches.
“All we wanted with Shami was to get back wearing the Indian colours more than anything else,” said Rohit.
“Whether he gets wickets or not, that was completely immaterial for us at that point. When you talk about a bowler like Shami who has done the job over the years so many times for us…it’s just about getting back to their rhythm.”
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav has also returned following hernia surgery, strengthening the team’s spin bowling attack.
“The two games that he played, the numbers will not show and with certain players you don’t have to look at numbers so much,” Rohit said of the left-arm wrist spinner.
“And if these two guys are in form, the team looks very, very good,” he added.
India will play all their matches in Dubai after refusing to visit hosts Pakistan over long-standing political tensions and Rohit said the key to perform at the Dubai stadium will be to assess the pitch “as quickly as possible”.
