Sunil Gavaskar dubs THIS India player a 'rare talent', says 'But he'll have to score 100s'

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes Shubman Gill is a "rare talent" but he still needs to score hundreds in order to replace Shikhar Dhawan in the team. Gavaskar, while speaking on Sony Sports, heaped praise on Gill but backed Dhawan to bat at the top of the order for India going into the next World Cup. The 1983 World Cup-winning player stated that Dhawan is an experienced campaigner and allows India to go with a left-right combination at the top. 

As for Gill, Gavaskar said he will have to score centuries after centuries to stake his claim for the opener's slot in Team India. Gavaskar went on to dub Gill a "terrific talent" but pointed out that he is not doing justice to his talent by getting out in the 50s and 60s. Gavaskar said that Gill will have to convert those double-digit scores into impact hundreds in order to make a difference. 

“You are always looking for a left-right combination. Shikhar brings that left-handedness plus the loads of experience that he has got. 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,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports.

“This means that 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," he added. 

Shubman Gill's record

Gill is not part of the ongoing ODI series against Bangladesh. However, the 23-year-old recently played a three-match ODI series against New Zealand, where he scored a half-century in the first match and followed that up with an unbeaten 45 runs. Gill was dismissed for 13 runs in the third and final ODI of the series. Gill has represented India in 15 ODIs and has scored 687 runs at an average of 57.25, including one century and four half-centuries. 

Image: PTI