Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has supported his former teammate Shubman Gill amid his poor form in T20Is. He has said that it would be unfair to drop the vice-captain of the Indian team without properly reviewing his performance.
The Indian team is performing at its best in the shortest format of the game, but their batsmen are lacking form. Especially vice-captain Shubman Gill and captain Suryakumar Yadav are being criticized a lot for their poor performance.
The Indian team is just 7 T20Is away from the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to begin on February 7. India will be the defending champions in this edition and will have the advantage of home conditions, but the Men in Blue need to move forward with their final confirmed XI, which they are yet to finalize.
“It’s going to be an incredibly difficult decision” – Ravichandran Ashwin on ignoring Shubman Gill from T20Is
After a commendable performance as Test captain in England, Shubman Gill returns to the Indian T20I squad ahead of the Asia Cup. Gill was named vice-captain in the format but failed to convince fans with his performance as an opening batsman, especially after replacing Sanju Samson, the batsman who scored three centuries last year.
Since Gill’s form is seriously poor, and he averages around 20, former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has called for a review of the vice-captain’s form, but not before the end of the remaining two T20Is in the series.
“I’m a little worried. Shubman is not only the opening batsman but also the vice-captain. How do you remove the vice-captain? It’s going to be an incredibly difficult decision. If you have to make that decision, inside this series, you can’t bring [Sanju] Samson because it doesn’t feel good to drop the vice-captain.” Ravichandran Ashwin gave the argument.
Ravichandran Ashwin further said that if the Indian opener fails to perform even after 5 matches in the series, he should be dropped, but before that he should be given a proper chance.
Ravichandran Ashwin said in ‘Ash Ki Baat’, “You can ask whether vice-captains have been removed in the past or not. But he has been taken and he should be given a fair chance. If he does not perform in five matches, a decision has to be taken.”
“You should know your best XI and best team till now (for the T20 World Cup),” Ravichandran Ashwin said.
Shubman Gill’s decline in form, especially in white-ball cricket, is not a recent affair, as since the England series, he has scored one red-ball century, and in white-ball cricket, he scored 127 runs in the Asia Cup and just 132 runs in the Australia T20I series.
So far in the South Africa series, Gill has scored 32 runs in 3 matches and his average is 10.66. So far in 2025, he has scored only 292 runs in 15 matches at an average of 20.8. With so much uncertainty over his form, Shubman is definitely not part of India’s strongest combination at the World Cup.
Ravichandran Ashwin said, “You should know your best XI and best team till now (for the T20 World Cup). I don’t think there is any doubt about the bowling. That department has been sealed. Another good message is that Harshit Rana is showing what he is capable of. He is executing what he is good at.”
However, Ashwin is concerned that if Shubman is not scoring runs and Sanju has to take his place, then it is fine, but the last thing the former CSK star would like to see is Gill scoring runs at a low strike rate, which will cripple the team’s efforts.
Will India support Sanju Samson ahead of ICC T20 World Cup?
India is already ahead of South Africa in the fourth T-20 series. He has taken an early lead in the series, but it is clear that Shubman Gill does not have time. Will the Indian management consider bringing in Sanju Samson as his replacement?
Sanju Samson has not found form in the middle-order, but if he gets support for the starting spot, it is ideal that Gill loses his place ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup. Samson had shown great patience as an opening batsman and Gambhir should be given this role.
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