Cricket

India's recent T20I series triumph over Zimbabwe has brought to light the impressive performances of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Former chief selector Saba Karim has urged the team management to consider these two young batters as opening options for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.Karim believes that Gill and Jaiswal have demonstrated exceptional form and should be given the opportunity to lead the Indian batting lineup. He also suggests including Abhishek Sharma in the squad, considering the expected presence of Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav in the middle order."The most crucial positions are in the top order," Karim emphasized. "I believe the selectors should opt for Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill. Abhishek Sharma deserves a place in the 15-man squad, given that Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav are likely to bat at No. 3 and No. 4."The selection of the opening pair will be a key decision for head coach Gautam Gambhir, who will be leading the team for the first time. The captaincy role is also yet to be determined, with Hardik Pandya not expected to be available."The captain's choice in T20Is will also influence the selection," Karim added. "Gambhir and the captain will need to determine their vision for the team and select players accordingly. Ruturaj Gaikwad is another player who has been performing well in the top order."India's victory in Zimbabwe was a testament to the depth of their squad, with only three players from the T20 World Cup-winning team featuring in the series. Captain Shubman Gill praised his team's adaptability and determination after losing the opening match."It was an excellent series," Gill said. "The hunger we showed after the first loss was phenomenal. Many players had long flights and were not accustomed to the conditions, but they adapted remarkably."

India's dominance continued on Day 2 of the 5th Test against England in Dharamsala, with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill slamming centuries in a non-traditional manner. Their rapid scoring prompted former England star Owais Shah to question the reason behind India's high strike rate.Saba Karim, the former India cricketer, reminded Shah of Rohit Sharma's pre-match comment about England's Ben Duckett suggesting that England should get credit for Yashasvi Jaiswal's high strike rate. Rohit had responded by saying, "There was a guy called Rishabh Pant in our team, probably Ben Duckett hasn't seen him play."Karim echoed Rohit's sentiment, saying, "Should I respond the same way Rohit did, saying you guys have not seen Rishabh Pant bat?"England's 'Bazball' approach, which emphasizes aggressive batting, has been a topic of discussion before the series. However, Ben Stokes' men have struggled to implement it in India. Rohit expressed his confusion about the term, saying, "I honestly don't know what [Bazball] means, whether it is to go and strike, whether it is to go and defend and wait for the loose ball.""I have not seen any wild swinging from anyone, so I don't know exactly what this term means," Rohit added. "But, yeah, clearly they have played better cricket from what they played the last time they were here."Despite England's struggles, Rohit acknowledged the success of their batters who scored big hundreds. "They applied their method to get some success and they got it," he said. "But other than that I don't know what it means."