Former Indian cricketers have joined hands to criticize Gautam Gambhir for taking controversial decisions that do not benefit the team in any way. The appointment of Shubman Gill at the top of the batting order and the ignoring of Sanju Samson has now been described as sad by some cricketers.
India are enjoying an unbeaten run in the T20I series under the leadership of captain Suryakumar Yadav since winning the ICC T20 World Cup and would like to go ahead in the T20 World Cup with the same numbers. They have eight matches left before the ICC tournament to be held in 2026.
Indian Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill returns to the T20I setup ahead of the Asia Cup. He has since received the support of head coach Gautam Gambhir, who has also named him vice-captain, describing him as India’s next T20I leader.
Former CSK star criticizes Gambhir for supporting Shubman Gill without thinking
India lost the second game in the series against South Africa and opener Shubman Gill once again failed to contribute and was out for a golden duck. Gill’s averages have been very low and since his return he has been a consistent failure in the shortest format of the game.
“Sanju Samson has scored three centuries. We are talking about T20 cricket, and he has three centuries to his name. What more do you want as a player? It is a bit painful to see a player sitting on the bench who has performed so well,” Badrinath said during his commentary duties on Star Sports Tamil.
Unlike Gill, Sanju Samson, who was demoted to the middle order due to Gill’s arrival, has scored three centuries as an opener for India in T20Is in the 2024 calendar year. Hence, former CSK star Subramaniam Badrinath has criticized Gambhir for keeping such a cricketer on the bench and preferring the out-of-touch Shubman Gill in T20I cricket.
He said, “He is the vice-captain of the team. I think only a certain player in the XI can be the captain or vice-captain. He has been made the vice-captain with these numbers. I can understand there is no backup, but India has no dearth of talent in T20.”
“They say Gill is a good player, and they are giving him opportunities,” questioned Kris Srikkanth, asking for repeated opportunities for Gill.
While Badrinath also claims that the Indians have many talented players in the shortest format of the game, former Indian selector Kris Srikkanth also supported his statements. He clearly highlighted the largely controversial decision by pointing out the statistics between the two batsmen.
He said, “His (Samson’s) strike rate is 183 – it is on another level. What are they saying even in the press conferences? Everyone is saying different things. They say it is a fight between Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma. There is no clarity in what they are saying. They say Gill is a good player and they are giving him chances.”
“Look, they are confused themselves.” Srikanth following Akshar Patel’s footsteps in New Chandigarh
After this, Srikanth suddenly questioned the decision of promoting Akshar Patel to number one. 3. Chasing 214 in such a high-scoring game, when India needed some big hitters, Gambhir instead opted to send Axar with an agenda that never panned out.
“See, they themselves are confused. They don’t know why Axar Patel came at number 3.
He said, “We are talking about the Indian team. Where is this fairness? Even when you give him chances, you are moving him around.”
The Indian management has continued to support Shubman Gill as Indian assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate claimed that Shubman Gill had shown great form in the final stages of the T20I series in Australia. He also gave excuses to defend Gill’s dismissal in the series, which also indicated that he will continue to play for India in the shortest format.
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