Former India batter Mohammad Kaif urged the current team management, headed by coach Gautam Gambhir, to drop Shubman Gill for the upcoming T20Is against South Africa, owing to his poor form. Ever since staging a return to the T20I playing XI, Gill has had a mixed bag, and the vice-captain has failed to hit a single fifty. Before Gill, Sanju Samson had made the spot his own, hitting three centuries last year; however, the inclusion of the 26-year-old has eventually resulted in him being sidelined.
In the opening two T20Is against South Africa, Gill lasted just three balls, registering scores of 4 and 0. The pressure is mounting on the Indian Test and ODI captain, and it remains to be seen how he performs going ahead in the next three T20Is. India have a total of eight matches remaining before the World Cup in February-March next year and the form of Gill and Suryakumar Yadav are the biggest concerns for the hosts.
Kaif reckons that Gill is now struggling because of too much responsibility being put on his shoulders, saying his dismissals in the opening two matches prove that the right-hander is trying everything, but it is just not working for him.
“I have said this before: Shubman Gill has received too many responsibilities at once. Test captaincy, ODI captaincy, T20 vice-captaincy, no player can carry that much weight at once. It is simply not possible. Responsibilities should be given gradually,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
“Look at how he is getting out, caught at slip, stepping out and mistiming, trying aggressive strokes like Abhishek Sharma and getting caught. He has tried everything. I think the time has come to give him a break and try players who are proven. Sanju Samson is a top-quality player; he hasn’t received enough chances,” he added.
‘There should be no double standards’
Kaif urged the current team management to go back to Sanju Samson as the side will reap the benefits of having a naturally aggressive batter at the top alongside Abhishek Sharma.
“There should not be double standards. Even vice-captains have been dropped before. If it is in the team’s interest to rest Gill and bring in someone else, there is nothing wrong with it,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel,” said Kaif.
“But now it feels like the time has come for changes. You dropped players like Jaiswal, and you kept Sanju Samson on the bench without giving him consistent chances, even though he scored heavily as an opener. He hit three centuries in five T20 innings, something no one in history has done,” he added.
Kaif believes that the time has come to move on from Gill as the pressure has increased and the management need to look at the bigger goal of winning the T20 World Cup.
“Some players get very few chances, while others get extended runs because you want to settle them in the team. That is clearly visible. But now, I think the pressure has increased so much that it is time for a change somewhere,” Kaif concluded.
It is worth mentioning that Gill had missed the second Test and the ODI series against South Africa due to a neck injury and only after receiving the clearance from the Centre of Excellence (CoE), he was given the go ahead to join the T20I squad.
