Shubman Gill, one of India’s most promising young batsmen, is facing heavy criticism after his poor performance in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia. Gill could only score 93 runs in five innings in Australia, leaving fans and cricket pundits deeply disappointed.
Now, former Indian cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath has made a bold and controversial statement about Shubman Gill, claiming that the young man from Punjab would have been dropped from the Indian cricket team if he had come from Tamil Nadu after such an attack series poor results in test cricket.
Subramaniam Badrinath criticizes Shubman Gill for lack of intent and aggression in BGT 2024-25.
Subramaniam Badrinath not only criticized the right-hander for his poor numbers but also his inability to adapt to challenging conditions and contribute to the team in ways other than scoring in the last five-match Test series against Australia, which won the BGT 2024-25 by a margin of 3-1.
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He pointed out that Shubman Gill, with an average of just over 35 after 32 Tests, has failed to show the grit and determination required at the highest level. He mentioned Australia Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney, who, despite his struggles, managed to frustrate India’s pace attack by occupying the crease and tiring out bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah.
Blaming Gill’s approach, Subramaniam Badrinath argued that the Indian batsman lacked intent and aggression, and failed to use the long innings to help the Indian cricket team. While Labuschagne and McSweeney played key shots in defense that helped their team stay competitive, Badrinath said Gill’s performance did not impress him at all.
If Shubman Gill was from Tamil Nadu, he would have been kicked out: Subramaniam Badrinath
The commentator also emphasized that a batsman’s contribution is in supporting his teammates, exhausting bowlers and holding the innings together, not just scoring runs, and Gill failed in every aspect on the recent Australian tour.
Badrinath said on Star Sports Tamil, “If this was Shubman Gill from Tamil Nadu, he would have been dropped. It’s very hard for me to see that. He did not live up to expectations for that level. You can run; you can’t, but there should have been intent and aggression. I wanted him to tire out the bowlers. I want you to make the ball old.
Help out your teammates and be tough even if the runs aren’t coming. Play 100 balls, tire the bowlers. It’s your team’s contribution [is supposed to be]. Labuschagne and McSweeney did it in a few games. By playing a lot of dot balls, they actually hurt Bumrah.”
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He couldn’t stay delusional: Badrinath questions Gill’s place in Team India
Adding fuel to the fire, Gill’s performance on the field has also come under scrutiny. The former Indian cricketer also criticized Gill’s fielding, saying he can’t even be put in the slips while questioning his overall value to the team. He observed that Gill not only failed to deliver as a batsman, but also faltered in his fielding duties in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Badrinath signed off saying, “You can’t go there and say, ‘Oh, this is how I play. I will stand and deliver. Four people will write about it. Whatever you can do, at that time, try and do. I didn’t get that from Shubman in this series. Even on the field he was poor. He could not stay in the slip and point. What does he contribute to the team?”
