Shubman Gill has scored 4, 0 and 28 in the ongoing T20I series.
Former India cricketer Mohammed Kaif has asked the team management to rest India vice-captain Shubman Gill from the T20I squad to bring better balance for the rest of the South Africa T20I series, but with a hint of subtlety.
Dropping the vice-captain will not look good for the Men in Blue, so Kaif hopes India will give the 26-year-old a rest and give Sanju Samson a chance in the next two matches of the five-game series in Lucknow and Ahmedabad.
“If you want to keep things in control, don’t use the word ‘drop’ (with Gill). Just say that you are giving him a break or want to try out a different player. But they have to go with a new player in these next two matches. Whoever that player is, he deserves those matches; he has the right. He must be thinking Gill is playing for a year, and I have been dropped after 2-3 poor innings. That player is Sanju Samson,” Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
After scoring 4 and a golden duck in the first two T20Is, Shubman Gill made a run-a-ball 28 in the 118-run chase in the third game in Dharamshala. Gill was cleaned up from a mild cut that created an inside edge after he gradually labored during his knock.
Kaif stated that since Gill's comeback to the team in September, India has given him plenty of opportunities, but since he hasn't taken advantage of them, the team must finally move on to the next player in line.
“There may be one or two players, like X-factor players, who deserve special treatment in terms of opportunities, but look at Shubman Gill now. How many innings has he got already? It is not like we have started talking about this now; we have been talking about this for quite some time now. You have to take a call now; the time has come,” he added.
The fourth T20I between India and South Africa will be played in Lucknow on December 17, and the final T20I will be played in Ahmedabad on December 19.