Along with Sarfaraz Khan's and Auqib Nabi's exclusion from the Test squad, former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin has questioned Shubman Gill's absence in all formats.
Gill, who has been leading India in Tests and One-Day Internationals, has "very well" handled the captaincy responsibility, according to Azharuddin, and shouldn't have been removed from any format.
Prior to the T20 World Cup earlier this year, Gill, India's vice-captain in Twenty20 Internationals, was removed from the team.
"Gill is handling (the captaincy job) very well. His individual performance has also improved a lot. He is one of the finest players; I don't know why they don't select him for T20s. He is a good player for all formats and should never have been dropped from any format," Azharuddin told PTI.
Azharuddin said both Sarfaraz and Nabi have not been rewarded for their performances in domestic cricket.
"Auqib Nabi is a great red-ball bowler. He is a very good exponent of swing bowling. I feel very sad for him. Nabi, after taking wickets in almost the last two years (44 wickets in 2024-25, 60 in 2025-26 in the Ranji Trophy), still does not find a place in the Test team. It is very disappointing,” Azhar said.
"These boys have consistently done well in domestic cricket. Everybody says that we have to play domestic cricket. But what is the use of playing domestic cricket when their performances are not being recognised?
What is the use of... when their age runs out? Then you give them a chance to perform. Nabi is not a very good T20 bowler, so you must understand and recognise that he is good for Test cricket,” Azharuddin continued.
Azharuddin said India needs to play more Test cricket.
"They need to play a lot of games because there is no cricket without Test cricket. It's a test (in many ways); the conditions, the pitch… all those things keep changing, and that is why it's called Test cricket. I think the board is doing its best all the time. But we have to promote more multi-day games,” he said.
Azharuddin encouraged Shreyas Iyer to excel in his role as India's T20I captain.
“He has performed well and has got a chance deservingly. He can become a good captain. He has got a very good cricketing brain (and) I am sure with time, he will become a very good player (as well),” Azhar said.
The former India cricketer, who played 99 Tests and 334 ODIs from 1984 to 2000, agreed with the call to remove Suryakumar Yadav from T20I captaincy as well as from the squad.
"You have to perform consistently because performances count a lot. A lot of young players are coming up nowadays, and you can't rely on past performances. You have to keep performing every time," he said.
The former India skippers said retiring from international cricket should always be an individual call in the case of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
"It's a very personal thing because players need to decide when it is time to go or when they feel that they have had enough or not. But both are very talented, and they have given so much for the country. A player knows exactly what is happening in his body and how his performance is (getting) affected. Both these players have given human service to the country, and they should be respected,” he added.
(PTI inputs)
