India National Cricket Team vice-captain Shubman Gill has opened up on the ‘toxic competition’ with teammates Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhishek Sharma ahead of the ODI series against England National Cricket Team.

Shubman Gill, in an interaction with the media, stated that Abhishek Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal are his good friends, and the competition between them is a healthy one and not toxic.

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Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal – 3 future superstars of India

Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, and Yashasvi Jaiswal are undoubtedly the three future superstars of world cricket, and they will carry the Indian cricket team on their backs for many years.

Many experts have predicted that Gill, Abhishek, and Jaiswal will rule world cricket in the next decade, but for that, they have to perform consistently as currently there is stiff competition in the Indian team.

Shubman Gill was the first one to break into the scene, and he cemented his place in Tests and ODIs on the back of his batting brilliance but is yet to seal a spot in the T20I team.

Then, Yashasvi Jaiswal was called up to the Indian team, and he has emerged as one of the top performers in Tests and T20Is. Notably, Jaiswal is yet to make his ODI debut.

Meanwhile, Abhishek Sharma got his India call-up after playing an attacking brand of cricket in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and he has all but sealed a place in Indian T20I as an opener, with his exceptional performance in the recent T20I series against England where he slammed a historic ton.

Abhishek has also received backing from the likes of Harbhajan Singh to get a Test call-up, and it won’t be a surprise if the trio of Gill, Jaiswal, and Abhishek feature in India playing XIs across three formats together in the next few years.

I don’t think there is any toxic competition between us – Shubman Gill

Speaking at a pre-match press conference ahead of the ODI series against the England National Cricket Team, Shubman Gill said that Abhishek is his childhood friend and that he shared a good bond with Jaiswal, and there is no toxic competition between them.

He added that they all aim to do their best for the country without hoping that the other players fail. Gill stated:

“They are my friends. Abhishek is a childhood friend of mine. Jaiswal is also a good friend. I don’t think there is any toxic competition between us.

“Obviously, if you are playing for the country, you want to perform every match, irrespective of… You know, you don’t really think about, oh, I wish this guy doesn’t perform, or I wish he doesn’t perform. You are playing, you are representing a country, you are playing for the team, and whosoever does well, you feel good for them, and you come here to play.”

I think the wicket dries up very quickly here – Shubman Gill

There are chances that the pitches prepared for the England ODI series would be similar to the surfaces that would be on offer in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in UAE.

Shubman Gill was asked whether they have given any specific instructions to the pitch curators for the home series and responding to this he said:

“I think the wicket dries up very quickly here. So I think their effort was to put some grass and water first so that the pitch retains water well. So that the wicket doesn’t dry up too much when it’s hot and humid. So I think that’s why they put some grass. No, we haven’t given any instruction.”