Shubman Gill’s inclusion in India’s T20 side has polarised opinion. Ahead of Gill’s return to the team, Sanju Samson was batting with Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order, and he scored three hundreds. India disrupted that combination by bringing Gill back and also appointed him vice-captain. It has been done on the basis of potential, and with a clear plan to appoint Gill as all-format skipper in the future.
The truth is Gill hasn’t done much in this format since making it back at the Asia Cup. Except in one Asia Cup game and the abandoned T20I in Canberra, where he was batting beautifully, his performances have been modest at best. Also, he is India’s captain in the other two formats, and the question that comes up is: are we putting too much load on Gill, and is impacting his consistency? Straight after coming back from Australia, Gill will lead India in the Test series against South Africa, and that merits asking if it would have been prudent to release him for the last two games.
Also, sport is always about performance, and that’s what will decide Gill’s future in the format. At the moment, he seems a little under pressure and is trying to bat differently to what we have seen him do at the IPL, where he has scored loads of runs in the last few seasons. It seems as if he is in a hurry, and is trying to play too many shots at the start of the innings. Is it the Abhishek impact or the effect of the set template? Whichever way we look at it, we haven’t seen Gill perform the way he can.
Add Yashasvi Jasiwal to the mix and this issue becomes even more complicated. Jaiswal is scoring big runs at the domestic level and is a gun batter across formats. Should India not try him at the top of the order ahead of the World Cup? How long can you keep him out when he is scoring heavily? And if he does make it, where does Gill bat?
The last two games of the ongoing T20I series are extremely important for Gill. While in the red-ball format, he is the future of Indian cricket, and is also firmly ensconced in the leadership position in the ODI game, the T20 format is somewhat different. Gill hasn’t really done something to stand out in India colours, and there are players like Jaiswal waiting in the wings and breathing down his neck. With Jitesh Sharma making a pitch for a middle-order slot and expected to be given a long run, Samson too will want to make a case at the top of the order.
The T20 World Cup could well see a three-horse race between Gill, Samson and Jaiswal for the second opener’s slot. Abhishek is well established, and one among the three will accompany him in the first XI, while one more can slot into the squad as reserve opener. While Gill isn’t feeling the heat just yet, the truth is that he needs big runs, and soon. With so much talent around, that’s the only thing that should decide team selection going forward.
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