The politics behind Shubman Gill’s support for the Indian team has been exposed

Shubman Gill, one of India’s most promising young batsmen, has faced heavy criticism after a poor performance in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia. Gill could only score 93 runs in five innings in Australia, leaving fans and cricket pundits deeply disappointed.

Now, former Indian cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath 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 an incident. series of poor performances in Test cricket.

Subramaniam Badrinath slams Shubman Gill for lack of intent and aggression in BGT 2024-25

Subramaniam Badrinath has not only criticized the right-hander for his poor numbers but also his inability to adapt to difficult conditions and contribute to the team beyond scoring runs in the recent five-match Test series against Australia, which won the 2024-25 BGT by a 3-1 margin.

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He pointed out that Shubman Gill, averaging just over 35 after 32 Tests, failed to show the effort and determination required at the highest level. He mentioned the one in Australia Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney who, despite his struggles, managed to frustrate India’s attacking pace by occupying the crease and tiring out players like jasprit bumrah.

Subramaniam Badrinath argued that the Indian batsman lacked intent and aggression as he was unable to play long innings to help the Indian cricket team. While Labuschagne and McSweeney made crucial defensive hits that helped his team stay competitive, Badrinath said he was not really impressed with Gill’s performance.

If Shubman Gill was from Tamil Nadu, he would have been dropped: Subramaniam Badrinath

The commentator also emphasized that a batsman’s contribution is to support teammates, wear out the bowlers and hold the innings together, not just score runs, and Gill failed in all aspects of the recent tour of Australia.

Badrinath told Star Sports Tamil: “If this was Shubman Gill from Tamil Nadu, he would have been dropped. It’s very hard for me to see that. For this level, he has not lived up to expectations. You can get runs; you can’t, but there should ‘have intentions and aggressiveness. I wanted you to tire the bowlers. I want you to make the ball old.

Help your teammates and stay strong even when the races aren’t coming. Play 100 balls, tire the bowlers. This is your team’s contribution (it’s supposed to be). Labuschagne and McSweeney did it in a couple of games. By playing a lot of dot balls, they had actually injured Bumrah.”

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Couldn’t stay to slip and aim: Badrinath questions Gill’s place in India team

Adding fuel to the fire, Gill’s performance on the field also came under scrutiny. The former Indian cricketer also hit out at Gill’s pitch, saying he can’t even be put in the innings while questioning his overall value to the team. He pointed out that Gill not only failed as a batsman but also failed in his on-field responsibilities in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Badrinath signed off saying, “You don’t have to go there and say, ‘Oh, this is the way I play.’ I will stand up and deliver. Four people will write about it. Whatever you can do, at that moment, you try and do. In this series, I didn’t get it from Shubman. Even in the countryside, he was poor. He couldn’t just slide and aim. What does he bring to the team?”