Former Indian player Kris Srikkanth has criticized Shubman Gill for his appointment as vice-captain of the Indian T20I squad. Srikkanth, the former selector, believes that this position has affected the flexibility of the selections in the Indian team.
Indian Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill failed to score as many runs as desired in the Indian T20I squad. Since returning to the team with the game’s shortest format, Gill has been given both vice-captain and an opening position in the side. However, Shubman Gill could not make any statement in favor of his appointment to the side.
Instead, former players and critics have urged the Indian selectors to reconsider Yashasvi Jaiswal for the T20I squad or else promote Sanju Samson back into the opening role; What has been the biggest hurdle, however, has been the vice-captaincy.
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“He’s a certainty, or on what basis was he appointed vice-captain?” – Kris Srikkanth on Shubman Gill
Srikkanth felt that the appointment of Shubman Gill as their T20I skipper had been a hindrance to the flexible selections by the Indian selectors as he could not be dropped from the team despite a weak spell.
Things have taken a turn for the worse for Shubman Gill since the Indian star has averaged just 24.14 in the shortest format of the competition after nine matches since the Asia Cup and India’s tour of Australia 2025.
“They will not drop Shubman Gill for the next three matches. They are not worried about anything else. He is the vice-captain for the T20 World Cup, that is a given now. It is also a given that he is the future T20I captain. So they have to play with him and build the balance for the rest of the squad. He is a certainty, or else on what basis has he been made vice-captain?” said Srikkanth on his YouTube channel.
Srikkanth once again calls for Yashasvi Jaiswal’s selection in the T20I squad
The former Indian selector believes that players like Yashasvi Jaiswal are queuing up to be picked for the T20I side. The inclusion of Shubman Gill has also affected the balance of the Indian batting order. He has also mocked India saying that they will escape since the T20 World Cup is taking place in India.
“Yashasvi Jaiswal is waiting in the wings. He is not in the team. With Gill’s inclusion, the overall balance has changed so they are not sure what to do. Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma are without a fixed position and Arshdeep Singh is missing out on the 11. The only good thing is that the T20 World Cup is in India so they will escape,” he added.
Besides the former Indian player, several fans, as well as other cricket critics, have claimed that Yashasvi Jaiswal’s ouster from the T20I XI was unfortunate. He is not part of the game despite an astonishing record with an average of 36 and a spectacular strike rate of 164.31.
“India has a lot of players like Abhishek. If players like Yashasvi Jaiswal get an opportunity, they will take it. But now he has no chance of coming into the side. Only Hardik Pandya can get into the 11 and no one else. Jaiswal also came through the IPL and has an excellent record in all formats and the IPL. Not sure why he is not playing with a brilliant IPL and T20I record. Give him the same opportunities, he will give bowlers to the destroy top,” said Srikkanth.
Will Arshdeep Singh be considered for a return to Team India?
Prime Minister Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh has been consistently dismissed from the Indian T20I side despite being their most successful bowler in the format. This decision has been severely criticized and Srikkanth believes this will continue in the Australian series as well.
“They will continue to pick Harshit Rana for his batting. Arshdeep is not going to play in the entire series. To play him, you have to drop Harshit Rana. Or else you have to play Harshit Rana as your number 7. Will they go for that option? It is difficult to understand what they are doing,” Srikkanth said.
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