Shubman Gill feels his and skipper Rohit Sharma’s contrasting batting styles make their opening partnerships successful.

Their combination is likely to play a vital role in Team India’s success in the Asia Cup and the World Cup. In just nine innings, Gill and Rohit have amassed 685 runs while batting together in ODIs at an average of 76.11.

“I think (that is) because his (Rohit’s) targeted areas are a bit different (to mine)... He loves to go aerial in the Powerplay,” Gill was quoted as saying by the ICC.

“And I’m someone who likes to find the gaps and keep getting those boundaries, and he’s someone who likes to hit sixes. So I think that combination works well,” he added.

Talking about batting with Rohit, Gill said the skipper gives everyone the freedom to play their natural game.

“It feels great to be able to open with him, especially knowing that all the focus is on him,” he said. “He’s someone who likes the other batters to go and just express himself and play the way I want to play the game.

“So in that nature, he gives the players full freedom for how they want to express their game,” Gill added.

Gill has adapted well to the format where he has averaged 62.48 in 27 appearances. The opener has also scored four centuries, including a double century against New Zealand.

The India captain has three double centuries in ODIs and became the only cricketer to hit five hundreds in a World Cup in the 2019 edition. It was mainly because of his batting that India made the semi-finals before losing to New Zealand at Old Trafford.

India begin their Asia Cup campaign against Pakistan on September 2 in Kandy, while they open against Australia in the World Cup on October 8 in Chennai. In between, India will also play three ODIs versus Australia at home.

With inputs from PTI