'Look beyond Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma': Gautam Gambhir has suggestion for selectors

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has opined about the changes India should make with its opening pair in T20Is. Amid the instability of an opening pair in T20s for India, the esteemed former opening batsman Gautam Gambhir has suggested a new combination to look out for before the 2024 T20I World Cup. Gambhir, who in the past never shied away from presenting his thoughts about the current scenario of Indian cricket has made a statement for the selectors to bring Prithvi Shaw back into the fray.

Shaw, who is lately been exhibiting a tremendous run in the domestic circuit, has been called up to the T20I squad for the series against New Zealand. However, the 23-year-old did not feature in the first two matches of the ongoing 3-match series.

"I feel you have got to give him an opportunity"

In the T20I series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, selectors have somewhat implied their vision to look beyond the stalwarts like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. And thus, the calls of new generation taking over the scene have been making all the noise. So far the fans haven't been apparently appeased by the performances of the young generation, and have termed the failures at the top the reason behind the underwhelming performances.

Shubhman Gill and Ishan Kishan, who have opened the innings for India in the first two T20Is against the Black Caps, have failed to play impactful innings thus far, scoring just 7 and 9 in the first match and 11 and 19 in the 2nd T20 internationals respectively. 
With one apiece, the series is hanging in the balance and would depend on the 3rd and final T20I to find the eventual winner. And just before the match, Gautam Gambhir has appealed to make a change in the opening stand in the form of Prithvi Shaw. 

During a Star Sports Show, Gambhir stated, "I feel you have got to give him an opportunity and you have to give him a longer rope, especially in the t20 format, because I see him opening the batting in 2024 if the selectors have started to look beyond Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma."

Gambhir states that it is the combination of Ishan Kishan and Prithvi Shaw that can play a crucial role for India in T20Is as the format compliments their natural game.

"You have to persist with Prithvi Shaw and Ishan Kishan, and those guys can actually go out there and play with the template that we have spoken about for such a long time. Yes, Shubhman Gill has done really well in the 50-over format, but if there's one player in this squad for whom T20 comes very naturally, it's Prithvi Shaw and that's his game." Gambhir added.