India vs South Africa T20I: Shubman Gill’s Form, Samson’s Snub Spark Debate

The Indian T20 team was a force to be reckoned with globally six months ago, but certain changes have now been revealed, which have shown the weakness in the team. Shubman Gill has been brought back into the Asia Cup side as the vice-captain, following which Sanju Samson has been removed from the opening lineup, and Rinku Singh has been left out of the playing eleven. Presently, Sanju is on the benches, but Rinku is not part of the side. Gill's non-performance in the T20 series against South Africa has been criticized. There are concerns being raised over his presence in the playing eleven.

In the initial two T20 matches against South Africa, Gill stayed on the field for merely three deliveries. In Cuttack, he was dismissed for just four runs off two balls, and in Mullanpur, he returned to the pavilion for a duck off the very first ball. Gill's fate now seems to be in jeopardy. If he doesn't capitalize on his next opportunity, he could be dropped from the upcoming T20 World Cup plans. Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra has supported Gill, saying patience is essential at this time.

According to media reports, Ashish Nehra believes that he can't be judged based on a few poor performances. He needs to be given some time. Nehra said, "If the IPL were three weeks away, I wouldn't be worried, because you're talking about the T20 format. We've only played two matches against South Africa, and that's our problem. In such a fast-paced format, it's difficult to evaluate players like Gill after two or three matches."

Nehra said, "You have many options. You can remove Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill. You can make Sai Sudharsan and Ruturaj Gaikwad open the innings. If you want to remove them, you can do it with Washington Sundar and Ishan Kishan. When it comes to replacing players after poor performance, there are always options, but if we do that, it will be very difficult."

After the crushing defeat in the second T20I against the Proteas, Team India's assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, supported Gill. He said that the young player has immense quality and it is only a matter of time before he performs well.

Ten Doeschate said, "I saw some good signs of a change in Shubman's mindset towards the end of the Australian tour. Despite his two dismissals in this series, in the first match, we asked the players to attack in the power play, and the wicket in Cuttack was not very good."

Sanju Samson scored three T20I centuries last year. Therefore, many believed he would be the opening choice. However, Gill's return to the T20 team forced Sanju to sit out.