After wicketkeeper and former opener Sanju Samson was yet another overlooked from the Indian playing XI, a former South Africa legend has claimed that Shubman Gill’s rise to the top spot in the T20I XI gives him a higher status than Indian legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
India has started preparations for the T20 World Cup and has made some changes in the team. Just before the Asia Cup, Shubman Gill was brought back into the team and was also made the vice-captain, which showed that he will now be seen as a permanent figure in the shorter format.
Sanju Samson, who till then had been opening the innings for India and had a promising record with three centuries in a calendar year, one against Bangladesh and two more against South Africa, was ignored and was sent back into the Indian batting order. However, it never felt like the batsman was best suited to middle-order roles.
Sanju Samson was dropped from four consecutive T20 matches
The Indian opening batsman was selected for the Australia tour despite limited success in the middle order in the Asia Cup. The former opening batsman played the first game in Australia, but was ultimately dropped from the third game.
India brought in Jitesh Sharma in the middle order in place of Sanju Samson. Sharma has been an ideal finisher in this format of the game and he has proved it time and again for RCB, India A and now in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well.
After the Australia series, Sanju was also dropped from the opening match of the South Africa T20 series in Cuttack. As soon as Jitesh was included in the eleven, the batsman sat on the bench. However, Sharma came to bat at no. Helped India by playing innings of 10 runs in 8 and 5 balls.
Shaun Pollock said of Shubman Gill, “I think he’s being elevated almost like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.”
Although Sanju Samson has mostly been praised in the T20I context, this time the former South Africa captain has woven a different side of the story. According to Shaun Pollock, Shubman Gill has now reached the level of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the Indian team.
“Yes, Sanju has got a raw deal… I think now you need to look at Shubman Gill in a different light. I think he is being elevated to almost the same level as the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli,” Pollock told Cricbuzz.
He further drew a comparison between the two Indian legends and Shubman Gill and said that just as Rohit and Virat returned to the ODI side and were offered their places, Shubman Gill was included in the T20I setup. However, it remains to be mentioned that neither Rohit nor Virat were ever dropped from the ODI team.
He further praised the Indian Test captain and claimed, “I think what he has shown, even in that Test series in England, is that he is number one, right, batting-wise?… It’s just the dynamics of the team. When Shubman comes back… I think he is the best player, so he goes to the top.”
Former IPL team director gave blunt opinion on Sanju Samson’s selection
Shaun Pollock talks about the chemistry and partnership between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill. Both have been friends since Under-19 and have adapted well to each other’s game. They can control the scoring between themselves and “bounce off each other well.”
Former KKR director Joy Bhattacharya recently gave a blunt opinion on Sanju Samson’s selection in the Indian team. He believes that if Sanju Samson cannot be promoted to open the innings and that spot has been finalized for Shubman Gill, then there is no point in keeping him in the team. Because in such circumstances the keeper has to become the finisher.
He suggested India to choose another finisher-keeper like Rishabh Pant instead. “No point… Sanju would rather bat out of position.” It has also been seen that Samson is not a very effective option in the middle order.
Also read: Indian selector claims, BCCI wanted Shubman Gill to be the successor of Rohit Sharma since 2023.