Ashwin terms Shubman Gill 'bit like a don', but advised against 'chasing strike-rate'
Ravichandran Ashwin described Shubman Gill as a "don" who will be "really hungry" to return to the Indian T20I side this season. Ashwin urged Gill to focus on scoring runs normally rather than chasing a high strike rate, believing his natural game will lead to success and potentially another Orange Cap.
Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin terms Shubman Gill a bit like a don, who would be coming into the season "really hungry" to make it back to Indian T20I side and urged him to not chase a high strike rate and just play normally. After a T20 World Cup snub following a run as the team's vice captain leading upto the tournament, Gill would be aiming to be among the thick of action and score as fast as he can to regain his place into Indian T20I spot. Gill was recalled into the T20I side as its vice-captain and Sanju Samson was dropped and sometimes played down the order to accommodate Gill at the top.
However, the experiment to make Gill a three-format player failed as he could make just 291 runs in 15 innings at an average of 24. 25, with a strike rate of 137. 26 and best score of 47.
Dropped ahead of World Cup Gill was dropped ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, after Ishan Kishan made a surprise return from sensational domestic season, and Samson was put back at the opening slot. So far in his T20I career, Gill has scored 869 runs in 36 innings at an average of 28. 03 and a strike rate of over 137, with a century and three fifties to his name.
Gill, unlike his IPL career, has spent a large chunk of his T20I career either failing or not converting a promising start into something of substance. Speaking on his YouTube Channel, Ashwin said that dismissing Gill at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium would be tough and adviced him to "plunder runs" and not worry about his strike rate. "To dismiss him in Ahmedabad, he has become a bit like a don these days; it is quite difficult to get him out.