‘He needs to score more 100s if wants to play 2023 World Cup,’ Gavaskar tells Indian opener

With Team India building their squad for 2023 ODI World Cup, Sunil Gavaskar spoke on how the team is spoilt for choices as far as openers are concerned and has shown faith in T20 discard Shikhar Dhawan to have the upper hand in the build up to the tournament to be hosted in India.

India’s captain Rohit Sharma is the only one with a guaranteed spot among openers while the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul sweating it out for the remaining spot.

Rahul, however, is expected to play a role in the middle order, leaving it for Dhawan and Gill to fight it out for the spot. Indian batting legend Gavaskar, however, is putting his money on the veteran southpaw while keeping in mind Dhawan’s consistency with the bat.

“You are always looking for a left-right combination. Shikhar brings that left-handedness plus the loads of experience that he has got,” said Gavaskar while talking on a TV show. “I think he has a point or two to prove in the sense that he probably might be saying that with the kind of record that he has in T20 cricket he should be playing that as well. So I think it will be a great opportunity with these matches to show that he belongs to this squad and not just when the regulars are away.”

The 37-year-old opener has been a regular feature in the ODI team and was the main choice during the ODI games in New Zealand recently.

Gill, on the other hand, have been convincing as well with 687 runs at an average of 57.2 in 15 ODIs, which includes one century and four fifties. However, Gavaskar feels his experience and performances have been often found wanting despite the talent the 23-year-old batter possesses.

“… Someone like Shubman Gill will have to score hundreds and hundreds. Not the 50s and 60s that he is getting. He is a terrific talent, make no mistake. He is a rare talent. But he is not doing justice to his talent by getting out in the 50s or 60s. Yes sometimes I understand that you are kind of trying to up the scoring rate but he has got to convert those 50s and 60s into impact hundreds and 120. Those knocks make a difference to the result,” Gavaskar said.

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