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No Toxic Competition Between Me, Abhishek Sharma And Yashasvi Jaiswal: Shubman Gill
Follow Us"Abhishek is a childhood friend of mine. Jaiswal is also a friend, I don't think there is any toxic competition between us."
India’s ODI vice-captain Shubman Gill said there is no “toxic competition” between him, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhishek Sharma. Gill is one of India’s most important ODI batters, while the other two are yet to make their debut in the 50-over format. Abhishek has been opening for India in T20Is, while Jaiswal has done extremely well as a Test opener.
Both Gill and Jaiswal are part of India’s squad for the ODI series against England, starting on February 6, and the Champions Trophy. Meanwhile, Abhishek was the leading run-scorer in the five-match series against England, smashing 279 runs at an average of 55.8 and a strike rate of 219.69.
"Abhishek is a childhood friend of mine. Jaiswal is also a friend, I don't think there is any toxic competition between us. Obviously, if you are playing for the country, you want to perform in every match and not think that 'I wish this guy doesn't perform'," said Gill ahead of the first ODI against England in Nagpur.
Gill will open alongside captain Rohit Sharma, who has been under immense pressure after losing Test series against New Zealand and Australia. The right-hander’s recent numbers in Test cricket have been very poor, but in the 50-over format, Rohit has scored 1,412 in his last 29 innings at an average of 52.3 and a strike rate of close to 120.
"The way Rohit bhai has been batting in the ODIs in the past one year and a half, it's been really game-changing for us. Taking the momentum right through from the start and taking the game away from ball one, it makes the job of the non-striker and the batters coming in a bit easier; and I think it has helped our team a lot."
Talking about the Test series defeat in Australia, Gill said, “One series does not define the form of the whole team. There are a lot of players who, in the past, have performed consistently in a lot of series and tournaments.
“Definitely, we did not play as per our expectations in the Australian series, but still we played some good cricket. We were unfortunate not to have [Jasprit] Bumrah on the last day, and we would have won the match, and the series would have been a draw, and this talk wouldn’t have happened.
“One match and one day doesn’t define us, we won there twice before and earlier won a World Cup and then reached the final of a World Cup, so we should keep all those things in mind."
