Does Shubman Gill really deserve a sudden return to the T20 team? According to reports, it’s a very real possibility. But the bigger question is, wouldn’t that be unfair to the players who’ve been giving their all for this team since the last T20 World Cup?
Let’s call it what it is: a case of reputation over recent performance. And that’s exactly the kind of thinking Indian cricket was supposedly trying to move past.
Sure, if the team had been struggling, some chopping and changing would make sense. But why fix something that isn’t broken?
This is a team that has played 20 T20 matches since the 2024 World Cup and won 17 of them. They haven’t lost a single series in that stretch.
This isn’t a team struggling to find rhythm. It’s a unit that’s thriving, growing with every match, and yet—just when these players are finding their feet—talks of a "comeback" begin.
As for Gill, his last T20I was way back on July 30, 2024. He hasn’t even been part of the last three series. Yes, he was in sublime form during the IPL. But his recent numbers for India haven’t exactly been impressive. Since March 2023, he has scored just 376 runs in 15 T20Is at a strike rate of only 128.3. That’s quite low for a modern-day opener. He has just 3 half-centuries in that period, one came against West Indies, and two were against Zimbabwe.
Now let’s take a look at India’s current T20 openers. On one side, you have Abhishek Sharma - 535 runs in just 16 innings, at nearly a 200 strike rate, including a century in his last outing. On the other side, Sanju Samson - 3 T20I centuries in his last 10 innings.
But this isn’t just about stats. It’s about principles. These are players who’ve delivered. Not just in practice or the IPL—but while wearing the India jersey. And if Gill gets picked in the T20 squad now, what message does that send? That as long as bilateral series are on, we’ll give chances to new faces, But the moment a major tournament nears, we go back to the “big names.” Is that really fair?
