India revealed their 15-man roster for the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates in September. For the first time since July 2024, Gill made his T20I comeback, taking Axar Patel’s spot as Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy. But according to Badrinath, Jaiswal and Sudharsan outperformed the Punjab batter in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and should have been included in the team for the continental tournament. Additionally, the cricket player-turned-expert believes that Sanju Samson’s spot in the starting lineup is called into question by Shubman’s participation.
Subramanium Badrinath, a former batsman for India, voiced his surprise at the exclusion of players like Sai Sudharsan and Yashasvi Jaiswal from the 2025 Asia Cup roster, but he was fine with the national selectors choosing Shubman Gill as the vice captain.
“The fact that they are supporting a young person and preparing him for the future is primarily a plus in my opinion. However, what about Jaiswal Yashasvi? His performance surpasses that of Shubman Gill. Furthermore, why was Sai Sudharsan left out of the IPL 2025 after surpassing Shubman Gill in performance and scoring 700 runs? In a video posted to his YouTube account, Badrinath stated, “Sanju Samson himself is now doubtful to start in the playing eleven.”
When you support Shubman Gill, you might wonder what went wrong with Sai Sudharsan and Yashasvi Jaiswal given that their numbers are higher than Gill’s. Is recency bias the basis for this choice? In Indian cricket, this has always been the case: choose the guy who is performing the best right now, regardless of the format. It’s a 50/50 choice, but it’s not a bad one,” he continued.
Did the selectors’ choice change as a result of Shubman’s amazing England Test performance? Badrinath responds
Shubman’s steady play during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which concluded earlier this month, earned him the Player of the Series award against England. The right-handed batter led the team well and finished as the series’ top run scorer. According to Badrinath, he was called up to the T20 team because of his performances throughout the tour.
“Over the past two to three years, Shubman Gill hasn’t even been regularly included in the T20 setup.
Nevertheless, he was appointed this team’s vice-captain. Even though it was Test cricket, his outstanding leadership and performance during the England series had a noticeable impact. Therefore, he will undoubtedly bat first alongside Abhishek Sharma,” Badrinath stated.
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