Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer, mentioned that Shreyas Iyer does not seem the player who can last very long. He added, “On the other hand, Shubman Gill, who scored a century in India’s first match in the Champions Trophy, looks to be in the picture for a long time.”
Gill’s performance on his Champions Trophy debut was stupendous as he scored a century of 101 off 129 balls in the first match against Bangladesh while chasing what seemed to be a respectable target of 229 runs set by the opposition.
On the other hand, Iyer walked in after Kohli fell in the 23rd over, and following an outstanding ODI series in England, which had seen him come into the tournament with top form, he perished for 15 runs in 17 balls.
“Gill is batting at a position where he is going to create a colossal impact. Any time he makes a hundred, like today, it seems like there is plenty left in him. It was like 60 percent of Shubman Gill is good enough to make a hundred like this and finish, Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
That is the difference between Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill in that Gill is going to take you right through. He is someone who you think is going to be around for 10-15 years. Shreyas Iyer, despite his obvious talent, doesn’t give you that feeling, “Manjrekar added.
Underlining, Iyer scored 59, 44, and 78 in three innings in the ODIs in England and was looking forward to another show when he smashed two boundaries early on, although Mustafizur Rahman walked away with his wicket in the 28th over.
Gill scored an impressive 101 not out against Bangladesh, and on Thursday in Dubai he took on match-winning responsibilities with the bat in the chase. He was seen consuming 129 balls and clobbering nine boundaries along with two sixes in his innings as he brought India past the target with six wickets and 21 balls left.
Gill made his slowest ODI half-century, off 69 balls, before getting to his century in 125 balls-the slowest an Indian batter has ever scored in ODIs in the last six years-but it served India very well.
India’s second group-stage game will be against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, February 23 in Dubai. Iyer was unbeaten on 53 in the 2023 ODI World Cup match against Pakistan in Ahmedabad.
