India, Sept. 26 -- Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan lavished praise on the opening pair of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma for their ferocious show at the top of the order in the Asia Cup. Having shared the field since their early days in Punjab, the childhood friends are now making their mark on the grand stage, with Abhishek riding a purple patch in his career. The right-left combination is doing wonders for India in the UAE, with back-to-back 70-run plus stands in the last two matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Shubman returned to the T20I squad for the Asia Cup after sitting out the previous few series, as a packed schedule and the selectors' focus on Tests and ODIs had kept him away. The right-handed batter was reinstate...