Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has called out the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for backing Shubman Gill in T20Is without yielding desirable results. Gill was not able to score a half-century in T20Is in any of his 15 innings in 2025.

Kaif went as far as mentioning that Indian cricket had not progressed ever since Gill was backed over others in T20Is. He also noted that the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma could have been nurtured instead of Gill.

“They knew there were better players, I am talking about the T20 format, just this one. There were better players than Gill. It was a mistake by the selectors. They have made a mistake and Indian cricket has gone backwards. For two to three months, you could have invested in Jaiswal, Samson and Jitesh,” shared Kaif in a video on his YouTube channel.

Kaif mentioned that Gill was probably never ready to be a proper T20I batter. He reckoned that investing in Gill was a "waste of time" for Indian cricket.

“I feel it [dropping Gill] is the right call. It came late, but it was right. The planning was zero. It's been a waste of time in the name of planning. You backed a player who's not ready right now. It was your mistake as selectors. There was no option left as he did not score in 17–18 innings, and how many more chances would you give him? No one wanted to drop him, but I feel it's been a waste of time for Indian cricket and for those players who should've been given the opportunity,” he added.

Gill was recently dropped as India named a 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup next year. Indiaappointed Axar Patel as the vice-captain for the mega event, while Gill remains the full-time captain in the other two formats.

He had not been able to get going in most of the T20Is so far. Gill's average dipped to 24.25 in T20Is. He could strike at 137.26 in T20Is in 2025. It remains to be seen whether Gill will make a comeback in T20Is once the World Cup concludes.