Former national chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar has praised Ajit Agarkar and his selection committee for dropping struggling opener Shubman Gill and picking the squad based on current form for the upcoming New Zealand T20I series and the T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka, starting February 7.
“Gill is a very promising cricketer with a lot of talent and potential, but runs and current form are very important. You cannot play on talent alone. Gill is a fantastic player in all formats, but if you are not consistent and in form, others who are performing well should get a chance,” Vengsarkar told Sunday mid-day on Saturday.
In his last three T20Is against South Africa, Gill scored 4, 0, and 28, while his last T20I half-century (58 not out) came against Zimbabwe in July 2024. Meanwhile, India discard wicketkeeper-opener Ishan Kishan has made a fine comeback. He was rewarded for his performance (total 517 runs) that helped Jharkhand win their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy recently.
“You should pick players who are in form because it doesn’t carry self-doubt. I’m glad Agarkar & Co have selected players who are in form and consistent. Rinku Singh is a match-winner and must also be in great form in this format,” Vengsarkar added. Meanwhile, former national selector Surendra Bhave reckoned it must have been a tough decision to drop a player of Gill’s stature.
“Feel bad for Shubman, but it’s a hard decision. For him, it will be tough [to digest]. Obviously, someone [selector] has spoken with him, which is quite necessary in today’s cricket. He is a celebrated Test captain. It was a tough decision, and the selectors took a tough call. Hopefully, things will go alright for India,” Bhave, who is currently guiding Odisha as head coach, told Sunday mid-day from Cuttack.
“In T20 cricket you have to pick a player who is a hot cake. I think they [selection committee] went by current form and who is hitting the ball well, scoring aggressively, and at a good strike rate. Losing out on Shubman is not a small thing, but probably he wasn’t in the best form, and they must have thought that the others are better options,” Bhave added.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
