Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar commented on Shubman Gill’s exclusion from India’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024 squad, suggesting that Gill’s inconsistent form in IPL 2024 likely contributed to his omission from the final 15. Although not selected in the main squad, Gill was named among the 4 reserve players who will travel with the team to the USA and West Indies.
While speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar praised India’s depth of talent, noting that even their second-string team could win the World Cup. The former captain felt that fierce competition for spots left gifted players like Gill off the main squad.
“India is blessed with an abundance of talented cricketers. They have so much depth that even their second-string team could potentially win the World Cup with some luck. This creates a dilemma where accomplished players like Shubman Gill may miss out on selection, despite their capabilities,” said Gavaskar.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma occupied one of the opening slots, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli could fill in as his partner.
Gavaskar expressed concern that Gill has struggled recently, noting the opener’s lackluster form in his last few matches. Despite Gill’s decent overall stats this season – 320 runs at a 140.97 strike rate and 35.56 average – the Indian legend highlighted Gill’s failure to register a fifty in his past four innings. With the T20 World Cup 2024 on the horizon, Gavaskar implied that Gill’s recent struggles don’t bolster his case for squad selection.
“I believe his current form was responsible for his exclusion. He has been inconsistent in the past several games. He had a great start. His varying performance in the past four games has cost the Gujarat Titans wins. Whenever he doesn’t fire, GT has lost,” opined Gavaskar.
