India’s opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill has been a key strength for the team in ODI Cricket in recent years. They have consistently given India strong starts, allowing the team to excel against various bowling attacks.
Rohit adopts an aggressive approach, putting pressure on bowlers right from the start, while Gill supports him by anchoring the innings and contributing consistent runs. Together, they have formed one of the most effective partnerships in the world.
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra recently praised this duo, declaring them the best opening combination in ODI cricket today. He emphasized their impressive statistics, noting that their average surpasses that of many legendary opening pairs.
“Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma’s partnership is currently the greatest in ODI cricket. They have over 2,000 runs between them, with an average of 63.8. In comparison, Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy averaged 58.4, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes averaged 52.6, and Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar averaged 49.3,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’.
Chopra also highlighted the consistency of the pair, noting the numerous significant partnerships they have built for India.
“They have scored 2,360 runs together, with 14 stands of fifty runs or more and seven century partnerships. This is indeed the best modern-day opening combination based on average,” he added.
Chopra further discussed Rohit Sharma’s significant achievements and the milestones he is approaching. He pointed out that the Indian captain is continuing to enhance his legacy in International cricket.
“Rohit Sharma is just six runs away from becoming the first Indian opener to reach 16,000 international runs. He is also one century away from surpassing Sachin Tendulkar for the second spot on the all-time list of international hundreds by an opener. Rohit is at a stage in his career where he is constantly setting and breaking records,” he concluded.
The successful opening duo of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma is expected to play together again in India’s three-match ODI series against Afghanistan starting June 13.