Former Indian chief selector K Srikkanth tore into Shubman Gill for forcing his way into the T20I side and disturbing the balance of the team. The Test and ODI captain was elevated as the T20I vice-captain before the Asia Cup 2025, making it impossible for India to drop him from the playing XI. Srikkanth questioned the basis on which Gill was named Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy following India’s loss in IND vs AUS 2nd T20I.
Decision to make Shubman Gill T20I vice-captain called out
In a video on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth claimed that Gill won’t be dropped from the next three T20Is against Australia as he was the vice-captain and the future captain after the T20 World Cup. He said that the move has now led India to have him in the side and build the balance for the rest of the team.
“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.
In 9 T20Is that he has played so far in 2025, Gill has managed to score just 169 runs and averages 24.14. His return to the shortest format of the game in Asia Cup 2025 resulted in Sanju Samson losing the opener’s role to him. Srikkanth claimed that a deserving candidate like Yashasvi Jaiswal was left out of the side because of Gill while players like Samson and Tilak don’t have a fixed position.
“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,” Srikkanth added.
