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Shubman Gill’s return to the India T20I team as vice-captain has not gone as expected by the fans, selectors and team management. Shubman Gill has performed well in Tests and ODIs, but he has struggled to find consistency in T20Is.
However, the Punjabi lad has also performed well in the IPL. Gill failed to get a golden duck in the second T20I against South Africa and scored just 4 runs in the first game of the five-match T20I series at home.
Shubman Gill comes under criticism as T20Is continue to struggle
After India lost the second T20I series by 51 runs on December 11, South Africa evened the ongoing T20I series 1-1. Notably, the India Test and ODI captain managed just 263 runs in the last 14 innings, which led to a lot of criticism and questions about his form.
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However, Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra is not worried about the numbers. The former India batsman feels it’s unfair to judge a player in such a quick and unpredictable manner just after a few bad games.
Nehra noted that India has plenty of opening options if the need arises, but feels the Gujarat Titans skipper should not be dropped or doubted because of a hiccup, despite not hitting a fifty in 16 T20I innings. He also warned against omitting Gill from the T20I team.
Ashish Nehra slams quick judgment on Shubman Gill
The Times of India quoted Ashish Nehra as saying: “Listen, the players you are talking about. If IPL is 3 weeks away, I would not be worried. Because you are talking about T20 format. And there are only 2 games against South Africa. If I remember correctly. That is our problem.”
The Gujarat Titans head coach further explained, “In such a fast-paced format, be it international cricket or IPL, if we start evaluating a player like Shubman Gill after two or three games, it will be difficult. If you want to look at it, you have a lot of options. You can take out Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill.
You can open the show with Sai Sudharsan and Ruturaj Gaikwad. If you want to remove them, you can do it with Washington Sundar and Ishan Kishan. So if talk about changing players after poor statistics, the option is always there but replace aise karege with bahut mushkil hogi. “
Washington Sundar to play bigger role in IPL 2026
Meanwhile, India and Gujarat Titans all-rounder Washington Sundar has performed well for India in all three formats. There were rumors that the team might trade him, but Nehra completely denied this. The coach praised Sundar’s talent and versatility, saying he can bat anywhere in the order and contribute with the ball.
Nehra believes Sundar has yet to reach his full potential and will only get better with more game time. He said the off-spinner has been with the Indian team for many years and is finally getting consistent opportunities to show his improvement. He didn’t play many matches last season due to the team composition, but Nehra is hoping he can play a bigger role in the 2026 IPL.
Talking about the upcoming IPL 2026 auction, Nehra explained that Titans already have a stable and balanced squad. They’ve only released a few players, so this year’s auction won’t involve a major rebuild. With players like Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Washington Sundar and Glenn Phillips forming a strong middle order, GT will go into the auction with an open mind and select players based on availability and budget.
