India opener Shubman Gill gained one place to move to second spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batters with his captain Rohit Sharma at third spot on the back of timely centuries from both of them in the home series against England as they head into the Champions Trophy, beginning February 19. The Indian duo closed in on star Pakistan batter Babar Azam who maintained a narrow lead at the top of the chart. Gill, who made 112 in the Ahmedabad ODI on Wednesday, is just five rating points adrift of Babar while Rohit is within 13 rating points of the Pakistan right-hander following his splendid century (119) in Cuttack on February 9.

With just one week remaining until the start of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE, it sets up a tight race for the premier position for batters in 50-over cricket during the eight-team tournament.

Fakhar Zaman (13th), Kane Williamson (29th), Jos Buttler (38th), Devon Conway (equal 40th) and Joe Root (51st) are among the big names to re-enter the rankings for ODI batters following a recent return to 50-over cricket, while things are equally as tight near the top of the bowling ranks.

Just 18 rating points separates Rashid Khan, Maheesh Theekshana, Bernard Scholtz, Shaheen Afridi and Kuldeep Yadav in the top five for ODI bowlers, while the Indian duo of Ravindra Jadeja (11th) and Mohammed Shami (13th) sit just outside the top 10 following a recent return against England.

Afghanistan veteran Mohammad Nabi maintains a narrow lead at the top of the ODI rankings for all-rounders, with New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner (up two places to seventh) among the biggest movers this week ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has criticised the Indian cricket team for its selection for the fourth Test vs Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Rohit Sharma and co. had dropped Shubman Gill for the game at MCG to make place for spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar. India went on to suffer a 184-run defeat in the game as the batters failed to even take the game to a draw. Disappointed with the result, Majrekar pointed out that India shouldn’t have dropped Gill.

“You tried to address the batting uncertainties by getting a bowler who can bat. Nitish Kumar Reddy in the side at the expense of Shubman Gill or maybe Washy (Washinton Sudar at the expense of Gill). So, they left out a proper batter and in hindsight, you’d think on a pitch like this, the flattest pitch on all five days so far in the series, Shubman Gill would have been handy,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.

While Nitish scored a historic century in India’s first innings, Washington scored 55 runs across two innigns while also taking one wicket.

“Nitish Kumar Reddy did well and thankfully that help mattered. But it’s an approach that never works where Washington Sundar in the end was playing as a batter, and he’s never going to be as good as a top-order batter like Shubman Gill,” he added.

Jasprit Bumrah outshone everyone with his impeccable bowling skills as he accounted for 9 wickets in the game, but India failed to take advantage of that and eventually suffered a massive defeat.

“There is a huge difference between Bumrah and the rest. Siraj, despite him being around and he’s a fine bowler, but there’s still a big distance between Siraj and Bumrah. Plus, when you look at Mitchell Starc and Siraj, Akash Deep and Scott Boland, overall the (Australian) seam attack is looking a lot better. Nathan Lyon as a spinner in these conditions is better than Washington and Ravindra Jadeja. So India will go into the final Test match knowing that their bowling attack is not adequate,” said Manjrekar.

Seasoned KL Rahul on Sunday batted at India nets, allaying concerns surrounding his fitness ahead of the first Test against Australia starting in Perth at the Optus Stadium from November 22. It will be a big relief for the Indian team management as they are already grappling with the possible absence of injured Shubman Gill and skipper Rohit Sharma, who has been blessed with his second baby. Rahul had left the field for medical attention on Friday after sustaining a blow on his elbow by pacer Prasidh Krishna while batting in an intra-squad practice match at the WACA ground.

But on Sunday, the 32-year-old batted without any major discomfort and participated in all the drills during the three-hour net session and batted for a considerable time as well.

“I took him for the x-ray and everything. Based upon the reporting I was a lot more confident that he should be fine. So from medical point of view, he is absolutely fine,” said India physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar in a video uploaded by the BCCI on social media.

In the same video, Rahul too said that he is ready for the first match vs Australia.

“I am feeling good and I batted today. Getting ready for the first game. I was happy that I could come here early. Get some time to get used to the conditions. I have got a lot of time preparing for the series and I am excited and looking forward to it,” the right-handed batter said.

After being hit on his elbow on Day 1 of the match simulation, KL Rahul has recovered and is raring to go #TeamIndia | #AUSvIND | @klrahul pic.twitter.com/FhVDSNk8tv

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 17, 2024

Rahul could open the innings at Perth as Gill is almost certain to miss the match because of a fractured thumb.

The Indian team finished the block of training at the WACA ground on Sunday and the visitors will now move to the Optus Stadium for match drills from Tuesday, after a scheduled rest day on Monday.

(With PTI Inputs)

Shubman Gill is one of the finest and most complete batters in world cricket. Having made his India debut five years back, he has become a crucial member of the team’s batting unit. However, it is not only the batting that is impressive about Gill. The 24-year-old’s captaincy potential and the skill to deal with pressure have also earned him plaudits. Gill is the captain of IPL franchise Gujarat Titans while he also also led a young Indian team to a 4-1 win in the recently-concluded T20I series vs Zimabwe.

After the Zimbabwe series, Gill has been named vice-captain of the Indian cricket team for its upcoming tour to Sri Lanka. India will play three T20Is and as many ODIs in the outing.

Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour believes that Gill will lead the Indian team across all formats one day.

“Whatever I have seen him, be it for the Gujarat Titans or in Zimbabwe (when Gill led in a T20 series), he did a good job. He has shown terrific body language, which is a must if you are leading a side. Now with the vice-captaincy, the BCCI has given him extra responsibility and I am sure he will thrive in this role, ” Rathour told The Indian Express.

“I feel captaincy brought the best out of Virat and Rohit and I feel it will do the same for Shubman. Although, he is not yet the captain, being in the leadership group will bring the best out of him as well. This is I am very sure off. When you are in that role, leading others, it gives you that extra bit of responsibility, which is good and I think is great for a young kid like Shubman, who one day might lead India in all three formats,” says Rathour.

The hunger to bounce back and adaptive skills helped Indian team pull itself up following the shocking loss in the series opener to win the remaining four matches against Zimbabwe, said skipper Shubman Gill in Harare on Sunday. India suffered an unexpected 13-run loss in the first game of the five-match series as the team fell short of chasing a modest 115-run total on July 6. But the visitors quickly put the disappointment on the back-burner to win the series 4-1.

“I think, the hunger that we showed after losing the first match was fantastic to watch. When we came here, not everyone had a lot of hits in the nets. We weren’t really used to the conditions. The way we adapted (was great),” said Gill following India’s 42-run win in the fifth and final T20I.

‘Player of the Series’ Washington Sundar said the pace and bounce of the pitch here took the Indian batters by surprise initially, which cost them the first match, adding that the series win had given the side a lot of confidence going into the upcoming white-ball series against Sri Lanka.

India will play a six-match away series against the Islanders from July 27, which includes three T20Is and an equal number of ODIs.

“Good to finish with a win. I felt after the first game that the condition were very similar to South Africa, with extra speed and extra bounce. Lots of takeaways, lots of learnings, a lot of confidence going into the Sri Lanka series,” said Sundar.

Young Riyan Parag (22 runs), who was involved in a 65-run partnership with Sanju Samson when the chips were down on Sunday, said the series opener made the team introspect its strategy.

“After the first game everyone woke up, and it was a clinical performance. Enjoyed it to the max,” he noted.