Shubman Gill is currently in the spotlight, but not for the right reasons. The Indian batsman was sensational in his debut series in Australia in 2020-21 but had a dismal performance in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024. India had a controversial season, losing the series 3-1.
In the recently concluded series against Australia, they finished with scores of 13, 20, 1, 28 and 31. It wasn’t just Gill who performed poorly, even senior batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli also struggled.
“Shubman Gill is an overrated cricketer.”
Indian legend and 1986 World Cup winner Kris Srikanth, known for his outspoken personality, slammed Gill on his YouTube channel, calling him an “overrated cricketer”.
“I have always maintained that Shubman Gill is an overrated cricketer but no one listened to me. He is a very overrated cricketer.” he said.
Questioning Gill’s continued selection in the XI, Srikanth asked the selectors why a player like Suryakumar Yadav was not given more chances. In a message to the selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar, he said, “If Gill is getting such a long rope, maybe a player like Suryakumar Yadav will also be given a longer rope in the Tests.” Some people may have doubts.” .
“Suriyakumar didn’t get off to a very good start in Tests, but he has technique and ability. But the selectors and management have made him a white-ball specialist, which means they have an eye for fresh talent. That means you need to direct it.”
Besides Suryakumar, Srikanth suggested two other Indian batsmen for selection in the Test squad. “Ruturaj Gaikwad, for example, has been doing great in first-class cricket. But they didn’t bother to pick him. On the other hand, someone like Sai Sudarsan is lighting it up in the ‘A’ tour. Masu. We need to encourage this kind of talent. Instead, they go around in circles picking on Gil,” he said.
“Gil is alive now because he got 10 chances and after nine failures, he scored on the 10th chance. And that gave him 10 more chances to succeed. Anyone can rack up runs on an Indian wicket. The challenge is to score away in SENA countries and players like KL Rahul qualify there,” he added. .
Gill missed the first Test due to injury, but India won. Captain Rohit Sharma also missed the match in Perth. However, things went downhill for India after his return, with Ravichandran Ashwin also announcing his immediate retirement after the third Test in controversial circumstances. Meanwhile, Gill withdrew from the fourth match due to poor health, but returned for the final test. Meanwhile, Rohit opted out of the fifth Test.
