I want to see Shubman Gill open the batting for KKR: Dean Jones

Former Australian cricketer Dean Jones reckons that Shubman Gill should open the batting for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Fazilka-born Gill came to the fore in 2018 after becoming the Player of the Tournament in the U19 World Cup in New Zealand. There he also scored a sparkling century against Pakistan in the semi-final.

On the backs of the performances, he got into the Knights setup. Though he didn’t get a lot of chances to bat in the first few games, he scored his maiden IPL fifty against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2018 itself. In the previous season, Gill didn’t flatter to deceive and was rightly retained by KKR for the 2020 edition.

Time has come to put Shubman Gill at the top, says Jones

Jones feels that Gill has all the potential to succeed at the top of the order. The veteran also said that the 20-year-old will among the players to watch out for in the IPL, scheduled to get underway on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“I want to see Shubman Gill open the batting for Kolkata Knight Riders. I think there is an opportunity for it now and the time has come for them to put him at the top of the order and let him play,” Jones was quoted as saying in Hindustan Times.

In the IPL, Shubman has played 27 matches, scoring 499 runs at 33.27 with four half-centuries to show for his efforts. He also played a couple of ODIs when India toured New Zealand for a five-match series in 2019.

In the meantime, Jones also sounded excited to watch Rishabh Pant play for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL. The southpaw has been a stalwart for his IPL franchise, but he has found it tough to cement his place in the national team.

Moreover, Jones is also keen on seeing how he performs with MS Dhoni still in the mix. “I am also very keen to see how Rishabh Pant plays. He has been a bit up and down and it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of knowing that Dhoni is back playing,” he added.