“Shubman Gill appeared in control” - Irfan Pathan heaps praise on the Indian T20I vice-captain

Former Indian all-rounder and commentator Irfan Pathan has heaped praise on the Indian T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill, stating that he looked in control in the last two T20Is of the five-match series against Australia Down Under.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Irfan Pathan has asserted that the Indian team requires a player in the top order who can understand the conditions and play accordingly. He also lauded Gill for going past Abhishek Sharma’s strike rate in the fifth and final T20I.

For the unversed, Gill amassed 29 runs in 16 balls with six fours before rain interrupted play, and eventually ended the game in a no-result. While Gill played at a strike rate of 181.25, Sharma was seen hitting the ball at 176.92. 

"Shubman Gill's innings eventually came in the winning cause (in the fourth T20I). You need a player to understand the conditions and play accordingly; that's Shubman Gill. In the fifth T20I, he left Abhishek behind in the strike rate. Abhishek was struggling, and two of his catches were dropped. But Shubman appeared in control. I hope Shubman doesn't leave his template. His template is timing," Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

It’s important to note that Gill was elevated as the deputy for Suryakumar Yadav in the shortest format of the game ahead of the Asia Cup 2025 campaign. He went on to score 127 runs in seven innings in the eight-team showpiece event.

Later, in the five-match T20I series against Australia, he amassed 132 runs from five innings at an average of 44 as India bagged a 2-1 series win. Interestingly, he was India's second-leading run-scorer in the T20I series after Abhishek Sharma, who amassed 163 runs from five innings.

Gill would be next seen as a captain in the two-match Test series against South Africa at home.

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