"I don't think he will be there yet" - Scott Styris on Shubman Gill's place in India's T20I side

Scott Styris feels Shubman Gill does not merit a place in India's T20I side as of yet despite dishing out outstanding performances in ODI cricket.

Gill has been in stellar form in 50-over cricket. The stylish batter smashed 450 runs in the six games he played against West Indies and Zimbabwe and was chosen as the Player of the Series in both those series.

During an interaction on the Sports 18 show 'Sports Over the Top', Styris was asked whether Gill's recent performances will lead him into India's T20I side. The former New Zealand all-rounder replied in the negative, elaborating:

"Not in the short term, I don't think he will be there yet. I think he will be [in the team], let's say 12 months from now. He is making his way nicely from the Test match side through to the T20s. He is still learning. He is a young man, he is growing his game, all of those things I think apply."

Styris pointed out a weakness Gill had when he started playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He explained:

"I think there was a huge weakness in his game when he first came into the Indian T20 league, and that was on the front foot. Any new player, especially a young player, will get tested with the short ball and he was sitting, waiting for it."

Gill was not too nimble on his feet when he burst onto the scene. He predominantly relied on either back-foot strokes or on-the-up drives to score his runs.

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"That's starting to change" - Scott Styris on Shubman Gill's ability to hit down the ground

Shubman Gill has started to dance down the track even against the pacers [P/C: Instagram]

Styris highlighted that there has been an improvement in Shubman Gill's front-foot game, observing:

"He is very very strong with the pull and the hook shot. We haven't seen him lose that. Even though on the front foot he had not a lot of power, he had not a lot of ability to go down the ground, but that's starting to change."

Styris concluded by stating that the 22-year-old is not too far from earning a place in India's T20I side. The cricketer-turned-analyst reasoned:

"So you are seeing him grow as a player as well and that is a terrifically exciting prospect for Indian cricket, the fact that a terrific talent that he is, is also getting better at those weaknesses. Therefore, I do believe that the T20 format will be for him in the not too distant future."

Gill is yet to make his T20I debut. The Gujarat Titans opener was one of the franchise's standout performers in their IPL 2022 success. He amassed 483 runs from 16 matches at a decent average of 34.50 along with an impressive strike rate of 132.32.