Sunil Gavaskar has indicated that Shubman Gill's omission from consideration for the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 suggests he has been dropped. He pointed out that the stylish corpse was heating up the bench and his replacement Washington Sundar was also not being used effectively.
India opted to strengthen their bowling for the upcoming Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne and included Sundar in the playing XI at the expense of Gill. However, the move did not pay off as the visitors lost the game by 184 runs on the final day (Monday, December 30).
during the discussion Star SportsThey asked his opinion about Gavaskar Rohit Sharma In the post-match press conference, it was revealed that Gill was not dropped, but was left out because the side needed a cushion in the bowling.
“Washington Sundar how many bowlers did you bowl? What pad are you talking about? The team's demand is perfect. You have to take decisions based on that, but you dropped him (Gill), you can. just call him dropped in whatever language you speak,” he replied.
“You can say you've dropped it or you've bowled it, both are the same. A miss looks different, a drop looks different and an out looks different. I speak English, but at the end that guy was sitting in the dugout and he wasn't there,” Gavaskar added. .
Sundar Batting in just 19 overs in the Melbourne Test, he picked up a single wicket between two innings. He played a responsible 50-run knock in India's first innings and was unbeaten on five in the second essay.
“You dropped Shubman Gill because you want to open and KL Rahul should have come at No. 3” – Sunil Gavaskar
In the same discussion, Sunil Gavaskar Shubman was asked if he expects to get a big call-up from India for the fifth Test, given that Gill is waiting in the wings.
“I can't say what the big decision will be as I don't know what kind of discussions are going on in the team environment. I just want to say that your batting failed and you Shubman Gill blew this match. You only wanted to open (Rohit Sharma) and KL Rahul 3 Shubman let Gill go because you have to come to the ground,” he replied.
The cricketer-turned-commentator questioned the Indian think tank for weakening their batting by staying out. Gill For the Boxing Day Test.
“You had just five overs. Ravindra Jadeja was at No.6. Jadeja batted very well at the Gabba, but he is an all-rounder. You weakened your batting instead of strengthening it. Shubman Gill scored 30 odd runs in both innings. Adelaide did not play in the first Test and what he did in Brisbane he got out for a mistake. You did that and you saw what the result was,” Gavaskar observed.
Gill scored 31 runs in the first innings of India's second Test in Adelaide and 28 runs in the second essay. He was dismissed once in the only innings in the third Test in Brisbane.
Edited by Ritwik Kumar