Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar shared insights into the exclusion of Shubman Gill from India’s first squad for the upcoming season ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Gavaskar believes that the Gujarat Titans (GT) captain’s inconsistent performances in the ongoing IPL 2024 might have influenced the decision.
However, Gill has been named as one of the four reserve players in the Indian squad for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place on June 1 in the USA and West Indies.
Speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar praised India’s wealth of talent and claimed that even the second division team could potentially win the T20 World Cup due to their exceptional skills. He highlighted the intense competition for every position in the team and said that players like Gill had to give way to others due to strong competition within the squad.
Sunil Gavaskar explains why Shubman Gill didn’t get a place in India’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup
The former Indian captain also stressed that the country is blessed with rich talent and therefore the selectors have to make tough decisions like leaving out Gill for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup.
Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports: “Yes, this is the blessing that India has. They have so many players. If you form a second team, with a bit of luck that team will also be able to win this cup. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes you have to leave a good player out. This seems to have happened with Shubman Gill.”
The legendary batsman also noted that Gill’s recent performances were not impressive enough for him to get picked in India T20 World Cup 2024 squad. The youngster has failed to score fifty or more in his last four games for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the ongoing IPL 2024. So far this season he has scored 320 runs at an average of 35.56 and a strike rate of 140.97.
Gavaskar bid farewell with the words: “I think the current form was against him. Here too, the form in the last few games may have been patchy. He started the IPL very well. His form in the last few games has been patchy and that has cost the Gujarat Titans victories. If Shubman Gill scores, Gujarat has won. If he doesn’t score, GT hasn’t won.”
Did captaincy have an impact on Shubman Gill’s form?
Notably, many have claimed that the pressure of the GT leadership may have affected Gill’s batting form and concentration. Managing a team in a high-profile tournament like the IPL is demanding and requires not only strategic acumen but also mental toughness to deal with the expectations and pressure.
Under Gill’s captaincy, GT has struggled to win games regularly as they have won just 4 games so far out of their 10 appearances in the ongoing IPL 2024. The seventh-ranked team from Gujarat will face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on May 4 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2024:
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (week), Sanju Samson (week), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh . , Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan