Abhishek Sharma's record century and other recent performances have sparked calls for him to stay at the top of the order for India in T20Is even when Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal return.

Moreover, it has even led to questions over why Abhishek is not in Indian ODI squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy. Amid the increasing competition for a spot in the Indian top order, Gill has stated that his relationship with Abhishek and Jaiswal has never changed and that they only hope that the other does better as they are all playing for the country.

"Abhishek is a childhood of friend of mine. Jaiswal is also a friend, I don't think there is any toxic competition between us. Obviously if you are playing for the country, you want to perform in every match, and not think that 'I wish this guy doesn't perform'. You are playing for the country and for the team and whosoever performs you congratulate them," Gill said.

Abhishek was the top scorer in the series against England, largely due to the record 135 off 54 balls he made in the fifth T20I. The 24-year-old finished with a total of 279 runs in five matches at a mind-boggling strike rate of 219.68 and an average of 55.80.

'Not taking England series as practice for Champions Trophy'

Gill and Jaiswal had been India's first-choice opener during the series against Sri Lanka last year, which was the first since Rohit Sharma retired from T20Is. The pair then sat out the subsequent series against South Africa and the recently concluded one against England, both of which came either side of a long and gruelling Test tour of Australia.

Gill returns to international cricket with a three-match ODI series against England, which acts a precursor to the Champions Trophy. Jaiswal is in the squad and it remains to be seen whether he will finally make his ODI debut in the series.

"We are playing against a good side and three ODIs and we are not taking this as a practice for Champions Trophy as it is a very important series for us and we are looking to dominate and win this series like any other series," said Gill.