As the competition for opening partners heats up in South Africa, Aakash Chopra mentions Gill.

Before India and South Africa faced one another in the inaugural Twenty20 International (T20I) match, former cricketer Aakash Chopra was unsure about Shubman Gill’s top partner. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who both demonstrated their batting prowess during the most recent Twenty20 International series against Australia, fought it out for the final berth.

After taking a break after the Australian series, Gill made a comeback and is now considered a sure starter by Chopra. The problem remained, though, in deciding between Jaiswal and Gaikwad as his possible opening ally. He discussed the advantages of both players, praising Jaiswal’s aggressive left-handed batting approach and recognizing Gaikwad’s century and series-high scoring effort.

Since Shubman Gill is back, I’m going to assume he’ll play. He ought to participate in the first game. With whom will he open if he plays? In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “Both Ruturaj and Yashasvi are standing together and saying that they did well in the last series.”

Ruturaj would argue that he ought to be playing because he was the top run scorer and scored a century as well. Yashasvi, a left-hander who is also very handsome and combative, will argue that he ought to be played. Thus, the first conflict that needs to be played is that one. I don’t have an answer for that difficult question,” he continued.

There is almost no chance that Ishan Kishan will play. Aakash Chopra

Examining the relationships within the squad in more detail, the 46-year-old voiced doubt over Ishan Kishan’s prospects of making the team. He doubted the extensive squad selection, expecting a stable starting XI throughout the three-match series. According to Chopra’s judgment, prospects for young players like Ishan Kishan were bleak with so much batting skill in the mix.

“Then, when I move a little lower in the order, it appears that Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, and Jitesh Sharma will play here, eliminating any possibility of Ishan Kishan playing at all. Ishan Kishan is no longer with us, yet he still won’t play,” he said.