Shubman Gill has not been having a good time off late in Tests. The right-handed batter had a disappointing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, managing just 93 runs in five innings. The 25-year-old missed the series opener in Perth due to an injury. He was also dropped from the lineup in Melbourne as the management wanted to go in with three all-rounders—Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Former India batter Subramaniam Badrinath slammed Gill for his performances in the longest format, questioning his below-par contribution. He also took a brutal jibe at the youngster, saying Gill was poor in the field and did not have the right intent and attitude.
Badrinath said he wanted Gill to grind it out in the middle and tire the Australian bowlers. He cited Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne's example and how the duo formed a gritty partnership in the first innings of the Adelaide Test.
Speaking on Star Sports Tamil, Badrinath said, "It is very difficult for me to see this. For that level, he has not lived up to expectations. You can get runs, you cannot, 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 your teammates and stand firm even if runs are not coming. Play 100 balls, tire the bowlers. This is what your team contribution [is supposed to be]. Labuschange and McSweeney did that in a couple of games. By playing out a lot of dot balls, they had actually made Bumrah injured," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"I want you to make the ball old. Help your teammates and stand firm even if runs are not coming. Play 100 balls, tire the bowlers. This is what your team contribution [is supposed to be]. Labuschange and McSweeney did that in a couple of games. By playing out a lot of dot balls, they had actually made Bumrah injured," he added.
{{/usCountry}}Badrinath also alleged that if Shubman Gill was from Tamil Nadu, he would have been dropped. "If this was Shubman Gill from Tamil Nadu, he would have been dropped."
'What does he contribute?'
Shubman Gill looked good in the middle during the Adelaide Test. However, he threw his wicket away after getting set. The same pattern followed in the Sydney Test, where he danced down the track on the last ball before the lunch session on Day 1, losing his wicket to Nathan Lyon.
Badrinath pointed out the flaws in Gill's game and even questioned his attitude on the field.
"You must not go there and say, oh, this is the way I play. I will stand and deliver. Four people will write about it. Whatever you can do, at that time, you try and do," said Badrinath.
"In this series, I did not get it from Shubman. Even on the field, he was poor. He couldn't stay in slip and point. What does he contribute to the team?" he asked.
Shubman Gill averages just a little above 35 in Test cricket after playing 32 matches since his debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against Australia in December 2020.