Former India chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth has slammed the team management’s decision to appoint Shubman Gill as the vice-captain of the T20I side, claiming that it has thrown the entire balance of the squad for a toss.
Since his return to the T20I fold at the Asia Cup after a year’s gap as vice-captain, Gill has only scored 169 runs in nine innings, averaging 24.14. Srikkanth has slammed the decision to make him Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy, which has virtually sealed his spot for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
“They won’t drop Gill for the next three games. They are not worried about anything else. He is the vice-captain for the T20 World Cup, that’s fixed now. It’s also fixed that he’s the future T20I captain. So they have to play with him and build the balance for the rest of the side. He’s a certainty or else on what basis has he been appointed the vice-captain?” said Srikkanth on his YouTube channel.
The former India captain also said that Gill’s fixed spot has meant that India have not been able to accommodate the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal into the T20I set-up despite his better record as an opener. He also said that batters of the likes of Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma are unstable in terms of their slots.
Not sure why Jaiswal isn’t playing
“Yashasvi Jaiswal is waiting in the wings. He’s not there in the team. With Gill’s inclusion, the overall balance has gone for a toss so they aren’t sure of what to do. Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma don’t have a fixed position and Arshdeep Singh is missing out on the 11. The only good thing is the T20 World Cup is in India so they’ll escape.”
“India has a lot of players like Abhishek. If players like Yashasvi Jaiswal are given an opportunity, they’ll utilise it. But now he has no window to come into the side. Only Hardik Pandya can come into the 11 and nobody else. Jaiswal also came through the IPL and has an outstanding record in all formats and the IPL. I am not sure why he isn’t playing with a brilliant IPL and T20I record. Give him the same opportunities, he’ll destroy bowlers at the top,” added Srikkanth.
