"Should Have Been...": World Cup Winner On Abhishek Sharma-Shubman Gill Opening For India In Asia Cup
There has been a lot of discussion around Team India's opening combination for the Asia Cup 2025.
- Shubman Gill is expected to open the batting for India with Abhishek Sharma in Asia Cup 2025
- India's World Cup winner Madan Lal shared his views on the potential opening pair
- "I'm satisfied because it should have been done," he said while praising the strike rates of Gill and Abhishek
There has been a lot of discussion around Team India's opening combination for the Asia Cup 2025. The continental tournament will take place from September 9 to 28 in the United Arab Emirates. India have announced a 15-member squad for the competition. While Sanju Samson was the preferred opener alongside Abhishek Sharma in the shortest format recently, the inclusion of Shubman Gill - and notably as vice-captain - suggests that the wicketkeeper-batter might be pushed down the order or even left out of the playing XI.
Former India all-rounder Madan Lal, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team under Kapil Dev's captaincy, shared his views on the potential opening pair of Gill and Abhishek.
"I'm satisfied because it should have been done. Abhishek Sharma's strike rate is more than 225, and Shubman Gill's strike rate is more than 150. Opening is very important in T20Is. In the first six overs, the openers set the game. Then, after that, you have to ensure that your average is around 7, 8, or 9 and continue until the 14th or 16th over. In the last three to four overs, you have a big hitter like Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel," Madan Lal told ANI.
While Abhishek has been impressive as a T20I opener for India, Gill has earned his spot back in the squad after his stellar performances in the Test series in England. The right-handed batter finished as the top scorer in the five-match series, amassing 754 runs.
With the Asia Cup being played in the dry and spin-friendly conditions of the UAE, spinners are expected to play a crucial role.
"It's very hot here. Spinner's role will always be more crucial here. It's very hot, but the thing is to get the breakthrough early on, and then the spinner comes in. We have the best spinner in the world. If we get a breakthrough in the beginning, then the spinners can be very lethal, and they can do a wonderful job. Spinners will play a big role. Afghanistan has four spinners and Pakistan has three. Most of the countries depend on the spinners," the World Cup winner added.
India Cricket Team