Shubman Gill could emulate Kohli's performance in the 2011 World Cup

With Virat Kohli having been rested for the two remaining ODIs against New Zealand, it is all but certain that the young Shubman Gill will make his international debut. In all probability, he will bat at number three.

Shubman has seen his under-19 captain Prithvi Shaw making an instant mark in Test cricket with his superlative performances. He would be itching to emulate his captain and do the same in the ODI format.

With the world cup not far away, he could yet be in contention for a spot in the Indian squad. Though India’s ODI batting is one of the best in the world, it is still heavily reliant on the top three of Rohit, Dhawan and Virat. On the rare occasions when two of them fail early, India tends to struggle.

MS Dhoni’s coming back to form with the bat down under after a spate of poor performances in the last two years, is an encouraging sign, though he is not the finisher and destroyer that he used to be in his heydays.

Kedar Jadhav should be a shoo-in as he comes with the added bonus of some decent spin option, which can come in handy during crucial moments. Though he is a useful batsman, he is yet to prove his credential as one of the best that India could have.

On present form, neither Dhoni nor Jadhav are in the league of India’s top three. But both of them are certain to be in India’s playing eleven during the world cup. That leaves only one spot in India’s batting order open. As of now, Ambati Rayudu is the front-runner for that number four position, with Dinesh Karthik a possible contender.

Though Rayudu has shown that he is a dependable batsman in Asian conditions, he has not done enough in Australia and New Zealand so far to guarantee a spot in the playing eleven. Similarly, Karthik has mostly been successful as a finisher and has contributed important cameos.

This is where Shubman Gill comes into contention for a spot in India’s World Cup squad, especially for that crucial number four position. He has been possibly the best young batsman in India right now. Though Shaw was the captain of India’s Under-19 World Cup winning squad, it was Gill who was by far the best batsman in the tournamen, and was rightly judged as the player of the tournament.

His form in India’s domestic tournament has been nothing short of extraordinary. As Kohli pointed out recently, Gill is very close to a finished product, and that for a nineteen year old, he bats like a pro. Though Kohli was obviously exaggerating when he said that at that age, he was not even ten percent of what Gill is, still it shows that the world’s best batsman is mighty impressed by the youngster.

Virat Kohli: India v Sri Lanka - 2011 ICC World Cup Final

The sceptics who say that Gill is too young to merit a place in the World Cup squad should remind themselves of a young Virat Kohli in the 2011 World Cup. Kohli was just starting out as a young batsman then, but the then captain Dhoni reposed enough faith in the youngster.

Though Kohli’s performance was not breathtaking during the World Cup, he did make some important contributions in the tournament. Apart from his century against Bangladesh and a fifty against West Indies, his contribution in the final against Sri Lanka was a significant one.

Though Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir are remembered for their batting heroics in the final, it was Kohli who had helped India recover after the early losses of Sehwag and Tendulkar, by forging a steady partnership with Gambhir. His own contribution may have been a meagre 35 runs, but in the context of that match, it was worth its weight in gold.

So, if Shubman Gill performs well in the next two matches, he should be given more chances in India’s next ODI assignments even when Kohli comes back to the side. He could well be to India in 2019 World Cup what Virat Kohli was in the 2011 World Cup.