‘Open with Sai Sudharsan, Ruturaj Gaikwad’: Ashish Nehra comments on Shubman Gill’s poor form in T20 cricket

Ashish Nehra has urged patience while judging Shubman Gill. According to the Gujarat Titans head coach, a few poor outings should not define a player’s ability.

Speaking to PTI, Nehra pointed out that Gill being assessed after only two T20 matches against South Africa was unfair. He said that if the IPL were close, there would be no reason to panic, as T20 cricket often produces quick fluctuations in form.

“There are only 2 matches played with South Africa. And, this is our problem. In such a fast-paced format, whether it is international cricket or IPL, if we start evaluating players like Gill after 2-3 matches, then it will be difficult," Ashish Nehra said about his Gujarat captain.

The former pacer, often seen passionately involved in IPL matches, stresses that Indian cricket has many options at the top of the order.

He spoke about names like Abhishek Sharma, Sai Sudharsan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar and Ishan Kishan. All of them can open for India, he said.

“You have many options. If you want to see, you can remove Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill. You can open with Sai Sudharsan and Ruturaj Gaikwad. If you want to remove them, you can do it with Washington Sundar and Ishan Kishan. So options are always there if there are talks about changing players after not good stats,” Nehra told PTI.

“But, aise karege to bahut mushkil hogi (But, it will be difficult if we do that),” he added.

“Today, he got out to a great ball. This can happen when you are short on form. But we also believe in his class. If you look at his IPL records, he has stacked 600-700-800 runs, and he will come good,” he said.

Gill’s selection has pushed Sanju Samson out of the playing XI. the Kerala batter has scored 3 T20I centuries last year. This decision has surprised many fans. But, the team management, led by Head Coach Gautam Gambhir, remains confident in Gill’s ability.