The ICC Champions Trophy is around the corner, and Team India is gearing up to rebuild the squad. India suffered a recent setback in the longer limited-overs format, as India, for the first time in a long time, lost a bilateral ODI series for a long time in 2024 against Sri Lanka.
Even when India had a stunning tournament in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, despite strong batting performances from every player in the team, including Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer, the only weak limb in India’s lineup included Shubman Gill, who repeatedly failed to score runs at the top, except for one semi-final game against New Zealand.
This time with the Champions Trophy around the corner, Shubman Gill’s form is under scrutiny as Team India is now considering the dynamic and talented Yashasvi Jaiswal in the role of the opening batter. Jaiswal has been a stunner in the other two formats, while many experts have suggested his possible inclusion in the squad for the Champions Trophy.
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Top 3 players who can replace Shubman Gill from the Champions Trophy team:
3. Ruturaj Gaikwad
The talented Ruturaj Gaikwad has been a standout performer for India in several situations in domestic-level cricket while leading the Maharashtra side and has also been quite efficient whenever Gaikwad has starred for India in limited-overs cricket.
Gaikwad has scored vital runs for India; however, despite his strong performances, the Indian team has not considered him for long in any format.
2. Sanju Samson
The wicketkeeper-batsman has been India’s star in the shortest format of the game, while Samson can earn a spot for himself in the ODI team as well. Samson’s fearless batting at the top has helped India a lot, and Gill’s out-of-form might be taken over by Sanju Samson.
Sanju Samson has previously played only down the order for the Indian side; however, his true merit has been showcased ever since he was given the role of an opener by the new coach, Gautam Gambhir.
1. Yashasvi Jaiswal
The left-handed batter from Mumbai has been a special talent in the shortest format for India, as he started his international white-ball career with it. Later, Jaiswal was included in the red-ball side as he ended his first complete test season with extraordinary seasons, as he scored nearly 1500 runs in a single year with 3 hundreds coming off this season.
Jaiswal has also scored 2 double hundreds in this season. However, Jaiswal is now for the first time being considered for the Team India ODI side. Jaiswal’s aggressive presence can be a helping hand to Rohit Sharma, who has often taken the role of showing intent at the top of the order. While Jaiswal can also provide the left-right combination for India in the Champions Trophy.
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