"Can't Make Selections Like That": India Great Fires 'Shubman Gill Warning' To Ajit Agarkar
Shubman Gill's potential selection for the Asia Cup 2025 has met strong resistance.
- Shubman Gill scored 650 runs for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 but is not assured of Asia Cup selection
- Gill was not part of India's T20 World Cup 2024 or the recent T20I series against England
- Krisnamachari Srikkanth warned BCCI over Gill's potential addition, saying: "can't make selections like that"
As the countdown to announce India's squad for the Asia Cup 2025 begins, there remains an intense debate about the potential selection of Test skipper Shubman Gill. The opening batter showed a much-improved performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 for the Gujarat Titans, scoring 650 runs, but is still not guaranteed a spot in the Indian team for the shortest format. As reports suggest that some people in the management want to add Gill to the Asia Cup roster, former India cricketer Krisnamachari Srikkanth is puzzled over the chatter around Gill.
In a video on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth suggested that there should be no discussion around Gill's selection for the Asia Cup, as he wasn't part of the T20 World Cup 2024 or India's last assignment in the shortest format - against England.
"If Shubman Gill was the captain [in T20Is], he would have automatically come into the playing XI. Then, there would be no Sai Sudharsan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, or Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Gill would have opened straightaway. But, Gill wasn't part of the T20 World Cup. Where does he come in suddenly?," Srikkanth said.
"He was not even in the T20I team against England. Yes, he has been doing very well recently, but we can't make selection calls like that," the 65-year-old added.
It's a "scary" conundrum for the selectors but Indian cricket right now is a T20 talent factory with at least 30 players who are ready to come into the national squad with three to four options available for one slot.
For the top three positions, there are six cricketers of similar pedigree available.
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma have been phenomenal in national colours through last season but then the ones who are equally good, if not better, happen to be Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan (the IPL Orange Cap winner).
With PTI Inputs
India Cricket Team