The IND vs AUS 4th Test in Melbourne saw ace batter Shubman Gill not making the Indian Playing XI. During the Toss, Rohit Sharma claimed that there is only one change in the playing XI as Washington Sundar makes the cut. Rohit too promoted himself up the order to bat as an opener. But after Day 1, India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar claimed that Shubman Gill was not dropped.
Nayar explained that Gill had not been dropped. However, owing to the circumstances it is unfortunate that he can’t find a place in the team. Questions were raised after Shubman Gill failed to score in his last three innings. He managed to score 31, 29, and 1 on his last 3 innings in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Shubman Gill unfortunate to not find place
“Unfortunately for Gill, he had to miss out due to how things panned out,” Abhishek Nayar told reporters.
Abhishek Nayar went on to explain that Shubman Gill was not injured. But given the playing XI that India opted for the Melbourne Test, there was no place to accommodate Gill in the Playing XI.
“He understands that it’s the team requirement. It’s unfortunate. I wouldn’t say Gill has been dropped per se, it was just unfortunate that he couldn’t find his place in the XI in this game,” Nayar added.
- BGIS 2026 Grand Finals: All 16 Team Rondo Drop Locations and Clashes
- BGIS 2026 Grand Finals: All 16 Team Drop Locations and Drop Clash on Miramar
- BGIS 2026 Grand Finals: All 16 Team Drop Locations and Clash on Erangel
- BGIS 2026 Grand Finals Day 1: Teams, Format, Schedule, and More
- PSL 2026 Points Table after Lahore Qalandars vs Hyderabad Kingsmen match
It was also surprising that India opted to feature two spinners in the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. While people expected India to play a solitary pacer on a green top, that wasn’t the case.
“We felt looking at this pitch having Washington Sundar in the bowling attack will give us that variation, especially with the older ball. So against the likes of Travis Head and Alex Carey, who were getting lower-order runs, we felt having an offie in the ranks would bode well for us. The thought process wasn’t to strengthen the batting. If there was over-emphasis on batting, then we would have kept Shubman [Gill] in the side,” Nayar concluded.
