Shubman Gill, one of India's most promising young batsmen, faced heavy criticism after a disastrous performance in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia. Gill could score only 93 runs in five innings in Australia, which left fans and cricket pundits deeply disappointed.
Now, former Indian cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath has made a bold and controversial statement about Shubman Gill, claiming that the Punjab boy would have been dropped from the Indian cricket team if he had come from Tamil Nadu after such a string of poor performances at test cricket.
Subramaniam Badrinath slams Shubman Gill for lack of intent and aggression in BGT 2024-25
Subramaniam Badrinath not only criticized the right-hander for his poor numbers but also for his inability to adapt to difficult conditions and contribute to the team in ways beyond scoring runs in the recent five-match Test series against Australia, which won BGT 2024-25 by a 3-1 margin.
Also Read: Nitish Kumar Reddy dropped as Michael Vaughan picks Border-Gavaskar Trophy combined XI
He pointed out that Shubman Gill, who averages just over 35 after 32 Tests, has failed to show the grit and determination required at the highest level. He mentioned Australians Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney who, despite their best efforts, managed to frustrate India's pace attack by occupying the crease and tiring out bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah.
Trying Gill's approach, Subramaniam Badrinath argued that the Indian batting lacked intent and aggression, failing to produce long innings to help the Indian cricket team. While Labuschagne and McSweeney played crucial defensive knocks that helped their team stay competitive, Badrinath said he was not at all impressed with Gill's performance.
If Shubman Gill was from Tamil Nadu, he would have been brought down: Subramaniam Badrinath
The commentator also pointed out that the batsman's contribution is in supporting his teammates, wearing down the bowlers and holding the innings together, not just scoring runs, and Gill failed in all aspects in the recent Australian tour.
Badrinath told Star Sports Tamil, “If this was Shubman Gill from Tamil Nadu, he would have been dropped. It is very difficult for me to see this. For that level, he did not live up to expectations. You can get runs; you can't, but there should have been intent and aggression. I wanted them to tire the bowlers. I want you to age the ball.
Help your teammates and stay strong, even if the runs aren't coming. Play 100 balls, tire the bowlers. This is (should be) your team's contribution. Labuschagne and McSweeney did that in a few games. Playing a lot of dot balls, they really hurt Bumrah.”
Also Read: Rahul Dravid dropped as Harbhajan Singh blames Gautam Gambhir for India's downfall
He couldn't stay at slip and point: Badrinath questions Gill's place in the Indian team
Adding fuel to the fire, Gill's performance in the field has also come under scrutiny. The former Indian cricketer also slammed Gill's game, saying he can't even be put in the slips while questioning his overall value to the team. He noted that Gill not only failed as a batsman but also struggled in his responsibilities in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Badrinath concluded by saying, “You don't have to go out there and say, 'Oh, this is how I play. I will stay and deliver. Four people will write about it. Whatever you can do, at that moment, you try and do. In this series, we didn't get it from Shubman. Even on the field, he was poor. He couldn't stay in the slip and show. What does he contribute to the team?”