'It feels great to be able to open with him' - Star India batter speaks about importance of his partnership with Rohit Sharma at World Cup 2023

India is set to face Pakistan in their opening game of the Asia Cup 2023 on September 2. Ahead of the prestigious ODI World Cup, the continental tournament will help the Indian team fine-tune their preparations against quality sides. One of the biggest strengths of the Indian team lies in their top order. Skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli's performances will decide the team's fate in the tournament.

Echoing the same young Indian opener, Shubman Gill speaks about the importance of the Rohit-Gill partnership in the upcoming tournaments. Gill believes that their partnership will be key to India's success in the marquee tournament. He also spoke about the pressure and confidence he feels while batting with Rohit. It's worth noting that Rohit and Gill have been phenomenal openers, as they have added 50+ runs six times in the last eight innings.

Speaking about it with the Apex Cricket Council, Gill said, "It feels great to be able to open up with him, especially knowing that all the focus is on him. He's someone who likes the other batters to go and just express themselves 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."

"The combination works well", says Shubman Gill

Further speaking about the different batting approaches of both batters, Gill says that their targeted areas are different. Gill believes that Rohit Sharma looks to get flying while he tries to find gaps. "I think because his (Rohit’s) targeted areas are a bit different from mine. He loves to go aerial in the Powerplay. And I'm someone who likes to find the gaps and keep getting those boundaries, and he’s someone who likes to hit sixes. So I think that combination works well", says Gill.

It's worth noting that Rohit and Gill have added 685 runs at an average of 76.11 in their nine partnerships. Meanwhile, the number jumps to over 85 if only the opening partnerships are considered. Recently, Gill and Rohit attended the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards 2023, where Gill bagged two awards while Rohit received a memento as a good luck wish for the ODI World Cup.