Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal can replace Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in T20Is, said former Zimbabwe cricketer Hamilton Masakadza. His words came after a young Indian team leveled the five-match T20I series 1-1 with a 100-run win in the second match in Harare on Sunday.
India bounced back strongly in the ongoing five-match T20I series after losing the first game on Saturday, the Indian batters hammered the Zimbabwe bowlers with Abhishek Sharma top-scoring with 100, Ruturaj Gaikwad making 77 and Rinku Singh’s 22-ball 48* powering India to 234/2 in 20 overs.
Then Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan picked three wickets each as Zimbabwe was restricted to 134 runs and India won by 100 runs to level the series.
India will look to build on their resurgence and maintain their dominance, while Zimbabwe will seek to spring surprises against the world champions.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Masakadza, former Zimbabwe captain, who played 38 Tests, 209 ODIs, and 66 T20Is for Zimbabwe from 2001 to 2019, showered praise on Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal and called them replacements for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in T20Is.
“I’m really looking forward to watching the growth and improvement, especially of Shubman Gill. I’ve watched a little bit of him in all three formats and I really love what I’ve seen. He’s one player who can really step up to replace the guys who are leaving. Yashasvi as well. He started off brilliantly in his international career. So those are definitely a couple of players to look out for, players who can go a long way towards filling the huge void left by those world-class players,” he said in an interview with Times of India.
Rinku Singh is a very good power hitter: Hamilton Masakadza
Hamilton Masakadza also praised young India finisher, Rinku Singh. Singh, who got out for a duck in the first T20I, hammered 48* in 22 balls with one four and 5 sixes to his name, powering India to 234/2 in 20 overs.
Masakadza praised Rinku for his power hitting and said: “I think Rinku is a very good power hitter, clean hitter of the ball and a very good finisher. So, he’s just one of the batters that we have to look at. I think Parag has also been doing very well, as well as Jaiswal, and Gill, and the list is endless.”
“As I mentioned, we’re expecting some tough competition. I’m looking forward to seeing Rinku kick on. I know he’s already had a few games for India, but he hasn’t really had a solid run and a solid spot in the team, which I think he’ll have on this tour. So, I’m looking forward to watching how he will play. He’s a very exciting player and a very good finisher, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table in Zimbabwe.”
The third T20I will be played on July 10, Wednesday in Harare.
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