‘Gill is overrated’: Srikkanth tears India star to shreds in fiery message to Agarkar, suggests 3 players for selection

Shubman Gill is currently under the spotlight, but not for the right reasons. The India batter was in sensational form in his debut series in Australia in 2020-21, but was disastrous in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024. India lost the series 3-1, in a campaign riddled with controversies. Australia's Marnus Labuschagne (L) and wicketkeeper Alex Carey (R) react as India's Shubman Gill (C) is dismissed during day one of the fifth cricket Test match.(AFP)

During the recently concluded series vs Australia, he finished with scores of 13, 20, 1, 28 and 31. It wasn’t just Gill who performed poorly, but even senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggled.

‘Shubman Gill is an overrated cricketer’

Speaking on his YouTube channel, India legend and 1986 World Cup-winning player Kris Srikkanth, known for his outspoken personality, slammed Gill, calling him ‘an overrated cricketer’.

“I’ve always maintained that Shubman Gill is an overrated cricketer but nobody listened to me. He is a highly overrated cricketer,” he said.

Questioning Gill’s continued selection in the playing XI, Srikkanth asked the selectors why wasn’t someone like Suryakumar Yadav getting so many chances. In a message to the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee, he said, “When Gill is getting this much of a long rope, some people might wonder whether even players like Suryakumar Yadav could have been given a longer rope in Tests,” he said.

“Suryakumar didn’t have a very good start in Tests but he has the technique and he has the ability. But the selectors and the management have now boxed him into a white-ball specialist. So that means you have to look at fresh talent.”

Other than Suryakumar, Srikkanth suggested two other Indian batters for selection in the Test team. “Ruturaj Gaikwad, for example, has been doing wonderfully in first-class cricket. But they’ve not bothered to pick him. Meanwhile someone like a Sai Sudharsan has been lighting it up in ‘A’ tours. You have to promote these kind of talents. Instead they are running around circles by picking Gill,” he said.

“Gill is right now surviving because he gets ten chances and scores on the tenth chance after nine failures. And because of that, he is getting another ten chances to succeed. Anyone and everyone can amass runs on Indian wickets, The challenge is scoring away from home in SENA countries and that’s where players like KL Rahul pass the test,” he added.

Gill missed the first Test due to injury, which India won. Even captain Rohit Sharma missed the fixture in Perth. But on their return, it went downhill for India, with Ravichandran Ashwin also announcing his immediate retirement after the third Test in controversial circumstances. Meanwhile, Gill’s poor form saw him dropped for the fourth fixture, and he made his return in the final Test. Meanwhile, Rohit opted out of the fifth Test.

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