India's Shubman Gill bats during play on the first day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia. (AP)Former India captain and chief selector Kris Srikkanth has called Shubman Gill a “highly overrated” cricketer and has urged the management to give the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sai Sudharsan a longer rope.
“I’ve always maintained that Shubman Gill is an overrated cricketer but nobody listened to me. He is a highly overrated cricketer,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
“When Gill is getting this much of a long rope, some people might wonder whether even players like Suryakumar Yadav could have been given a longer rope in Tests.
“Suryakumar didn’t have a very good start in Tests but he has the technique and he has the ability. But the selectors and the management have now boxed him into a white-ball specialist. So that means you have to look at fresh talent.”
In the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Shubman managed only 93 runs in five innings.
“Ruturaj Gaikwad, for example, has been doing wonderfully in first-class cricket.
“But they’ve not bothered to pick him. Meanwhile someone like a Sai Sudharsan has been lighting it up in ‘A’ tours. You have to promote these kind of talents.
“Instead they are running around circles by picking Gill,” Srikkanth said.
“Gill is right now surviving because he gets ten chances and scores on the tenth chance after nine failures.
“And because of that, he is getting another ten chances to succeed. Anyone and everyone can amass runs on Indian wickets, The challenge is scoring away from home in SENA countries and that’s where players like KL Rahul pass the test.”
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