'Gill going to fail…': KKR coach passes deal-breaking verdict on India opener, shares staggering World Cup expectation
KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar says Shubman Gill will raise his stakes even further with a commanding show at the World Cup.
Team India will look to end the ICC trophy drought at the upcoming ODI World Cup, which will be played across India during October-November this year. Despite coming close on numerous events post 2013, the Men in Blue have failed to rise to the occasion. But India will be hoping to repeat the feat of 2011 with the prestigious event once again being hosted in the country after two editions. India under MS Dhoni's captaincy had won the 2011 edition, which was jointly hosted by India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
With the tournament being played in the sub-continent, the spinners will be the one in focus. However, a lot of team's success will rely on their batting strength with India lacking no dearth in that department.
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Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has predicted India's swashbuckling opener Shubman Gill to have a “terrific World Cup". Nayar has worked with Gill when the latter was part of IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders before moving to Gujarat Titans.
Gill has emerged as one of the brightest talent in recent years and didn't take long to secure a spot in the XI in all the three formats. One of the very cricketers to slam a double century in the 50-over format, Gill will hope to raise his stakes even further with a commanding show at the World Cup.
However, the right-handed batter is yet to fire big in the ongoing West Indies tour and has often been troubled by the spinners. He has got out to spinners four times in six innings during the course of the tour so far.
Nayar though has backed Gill to bounce back stronger, stating the conditions in West Indies are not the easiest to bat. “I am not worried about Shubman as he has got a strong base and culture. It’s tough for a young cricketer to play so much cricket and be that consistent. You need to cut him some slack and say that he is going to fail.
“He’s playing in the West Indies, not the easiest of conditions for batting… low scoring games. This experience is going to make him better. I think he’s going to have a terrific World Cup,” Nayar told PTI.
Signs of concern?
After bagging the Test and the ODI series Team India find themselves in a spot of bother in the shorter format against the West Indies. A young unit, with most of them just breaking into the international stage, have failed on two instances and now are placed in a do-or-die situation.
The biggest letdown has been the team's batting with India failing to chase 150 in the opener and managing just 152/7 in the second, a chase which Windies managed with seven balls to spare. Barring 20-year-old Tilak Varma most of them have had a modest outing, aiding to the team's miseries especially in the shorter format.
Barring the third ODI when India piled 351/5 on the board, the performance was equally uninspiring in the 50-over format too. They were also bundled out for 181 in 40.5 overs in the second ODI.
