India’s cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar brutally slammed Rohit Sharma for not selecting Shubman Gill into the playing XI for the fourth Test match Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Men in Blue added Washington Sundar into the playing XI in place of young Shubman Gill. India captain Rohit Sharma also stated that Shubman Gill was not dropped but was left out as the side needed cushion in bowling at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne.
Legendary Indian batter and former captain Sunil Gavaskar was surprised by Indian team management’s decision to drop Shubman Gill from the playing XI for the ongoing Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Gill, who made his Test debut for India in the 2020 Boxing Day Test at the same venue, was left out on Thursday, and in his place Washington Sundar is playing.
Shubman Gill dropped from 4th Test in MCG was a shocking move by Indian team Management
Sunil Gavaskar, who is in Australia these days for commentary duties, expressed surprise at Gill’s snub, and while speaking on Channel 7, he said that he has no problem with Sundar’s inclusion because the Tamil Nadu all-rounder will bowl a lot of overs for the Rohit Sharma-led side in the fourth Test, but if Sundar had to play, then he should have replaced Nitish Kumar Reddy and not Gill.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s clarification that Shubman Gill was not dropped for the Boxing Day Test against Australia did not sit well with renowned cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who claimed that the move could only be classified as a drop.
The decision to dismiss Shubman Gill in favor of all-rounder Washington Sundar, which aimed to improve lower middle-order batting depth, received criticism. However, Rohit underlined that the decision was not taken completely by him.
Gavaskar did mince his words when he was asked for his view during a discussion on Star Sports on Rohit’s statement during the post-match press conference.
Sunil Gavaskar on Rohit Sharma saying that Shubman Gill wasn’t dropped for BGT 4th Test
Sunil Gavaskar has noted that Shubman Gill being ignored for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 fourth Test implies that he was dropped. He pointed out that the stylish batter warmed the bench and his replacement Washington Sundar wasn’t utilized effectively either.
India opted to bolster their bowling for the Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne by including Sundar in the playing XI at Gill’s expense. However, the move did not yield the desired results as the visitors lost the game by 184 runs on the final day (Monday, December 30).
During a discussion on Star Sports, Gavaskar was asked for his thoughts on Rohit Sharma stating in the post-match press conference that Gill wasn’t dropped but was left out as the side needed cushion in bowling.
“How much bowling did you give to Washington Sundar? What cushion are you talking about? The requirement of the team is perfectly fine. You need to take decisions based on that, but you left him (Gill) out of the team, you can only call it dropped in whichever language you might speak,” he responded.
“You can say you omitted or dropped him, both are the same. Omit looks different, drop looks different, and left out looks different. I am talking about English but in the end, that guy was sitting in the dugout and was not on the ground,” Gavaskar added.
Sundar bowled only 19 overs in the Melbourne Test, picking up a solitary wicket across the two innings. He played a responsible 50-run knock in India’s first innings and remained unbeaten on five in the second essay.
“You dropped Shubman Gill just because you wanted to open and KL Rahul had to come at No. 3” – Sunil Gavaskar lambasts Rohit Sharma
In the same discussion, Sunil Gavaskar was asked whether he expects India to take a big call for the fifth Test, considering Shubman Gill is waiting in the wings.
“I cannot say what will be a big decision as I don’t know what sort of discussions happen in the team environment. I only want to say that your batting was failing and you dropped a batter, Shubman Gill, for this match. You dropped Shubman Gill just because you (Rohit Sharma) wanted to open and KL Rahul had to come at No. 3,” he responded.
The cricketer-turned-commentator questioned the Indian think tank for weakening their batting by leaving out Gill for the Boxing Day Test.
“You had only five batters. Ravindra Jadeja was at No. 6. Jadeja batted very well in Gabba but he is an all-rounder. You weakened your batting instead of making it stronger. Shubman Gill scored 30-odd runs in both innings in Adelaide. He didn’t play in the first Test and got out for one or two because of the mistake he made in Brisbane. Will you drop him for that? You did that and see what was the result,” Gavaskar observed.
Gill scored 31 runs in India’s first innings of the second Test in Adelaide and 28 runs in the second essay. He was dismissed for one in his only innings in the third Test in Brisbane. Coming back to the fourth Test match, Apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal, India’s batters failed to perform in the Boxing Day Test as Australia defeated India by 184 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-Test match series. Both teams will lock horns against each other for the fifth Test scheduled to take place at Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney from January 3 to 7.