Leg and Off: What should India do with Shubman Gill the Test batter after poor run in BGT 2024-25?

Team India's post-mortem after the painful Test series defeat in Australia has largely been focussed on the two batting stars, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and the lack of support for ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Yet, as the dust continues to settle, the noise about young batter Shubman Gill has started to grow, thanks to his sub-par showing in Australia.

The 25-year-old missed the opening Test in Perth due to an injury and looked solid on his return with 31 and 28 in the pink-ball outing at Adelaide. Yet, his inability to convert the starts ultimately proved costly as scores of 1, 20 and 13 followed in the rest of the series.

Gill finished with only 93 runs at an average of 18.60 with no 40+ scores as India surrendered their bilateral Test series domination of the Aussies with a 1-3 loss.

Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth was particularly hard on the youngster and said on his YouTube channel [via Hindustan Times]:

"I’ve always maintained that Shubman Gill is an overrated cricketer but nobody listened to me. He is a highly overrated cricketer. When Gill is getting this much of a long rope, some people might wonder whether even players like Suryakumar Yadav could have been given a longer rope in Tests."

He added:

"Gill is right now surviving because he gets ten chances and scores on the tenth chance after nine failures. And because of that, he is getting another ten chances to succeed. Anyone and everyone can amass runs on Indian wickets, The challenge is scoring away from home in SENA countries and that’s where players like KL Rahul pass the test."

Is there truth to these statements and if so, what should India do with Shubman Gill in Test cricket?

Let us find out in the below sections before concluding whether Team India should persist with Gill in the red-ball format.

Why the Shubman Gill conundrum?

Australia v India - Men's 2nd Test Match: Day 1 - Source: Getty

Shubman Gill's place in the Indian Test side has come under scrutiny not only for the struggles in the Australia series but also for his mediocre overall numbers.

Despite an excellent debut series in the 2020/21 tour Down Under, the 25-year-old has averaged only 35.05 in 32 Test outings. For context, Gill's ODI average is a stunning 58.20 in 47 matches.

With such apparent talent, his red-ball struggles and inconsistencies have gone from being worrisome to downright unfathomable. Gill's low scores in Australia, coupled with India's series defeat, have only added more fuel to the fire among experts and fans.

A further cause of concern is also his dismal away record in Tests with an average of under 30 in 15 matches. With several batters waiting in the wings on the back of consistent domestic performances for years, Gill hasn't accumulated enough credits like some of the senior players to withstand the growing onslaught against his place in the Indian Test team.

What works in favor of Gill's continued selection in Tests?

India v England - 4th Test Match: Day Four - Source: Getty

Several factors still work in Shubman Gill's favor when it comes to Test selection. For all his inconsistencies, he was India's second leading run-scorer in Tests in 2024 with 866 runs at an excellent average of 43.30, behind only Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Extending even further, Gill finished as India's second leading run-scorer in the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with almost 1,000 runs in 16 outings, including three centuries and as many half-centuries.

Hence, if India do drop Gill, it would be purely on the three poor matches in Australia, which would be unjustified, considering almost all the Indian batters failed to live up to expectations. The youngster out-batted all but one of the batters in the side throughout 2024 before the tour Down Under.

It is also worth remembering that Gill is only 25 and India have invested in him for four years. While the performances haven't been stellar, there have been enough glimpses of his match-winning ability with the willow to provide hope for the management that the returns aren't far away.

Gill is also one of the few versatile batters in the Indian Test side, evidenced by his move to No. 3 in the middle of 2023 after opening for India until that point. The reserve batters next in line like Devdutt Padikkal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan are either openers, middle-order batters or unproven at No. 3.

In comparison, Gill has a fairly impressive record at the crucial one-drop with an average of almost 38 in 30 innings.

Considering India's next Test assignment is the five-match series in England, going the tried and tested Gill route might serve the team better than a fresh face being exposed to alien conditions at a key position like No. 3.

What works against Shubman Gill?

Australia v India - ICC World Test Championship Final 2023: Day Four - Source: Getty

Apart from the sub-40 average in Tests, what works against Shubman Gill are his pedestrian numbers in SENA countries. A decent home average of 42.03 has in many ways covered up for his frailties on the faster and bouncier tracks outside Asia.

The stylish batter averages a dismal 25.70 in 11 Tests across the SENA nations with no three-figure scores. The numbers dip even further if his excellent debut series in Australia in 2020/21 isn't considered.

Since India's victorious tour Down Under in 2020/21, Gill has averaged only 17 in eight outings in the SENA countries. His average in the West Indies is no better at 22.50 in two Tests. Gill's technical flaws, like playing with hard hands and being a poor leaver, neutralize his rare backfoot supremacy.

Such poor returns over a reasonable sample space are undoubtedly worrying, especially for a batter at the critical No. 3 position. And India touring England next might work against him, given his average there of 14.66 in three Tests.

Conclusion

Shubman Gill still has most key parameters for selection working in his favor, including recent form compared to his fellow batters. However, the overall inconsistency and poor SENA numbers might work against him, considering India's next Test assignment is the tour of England.

Final Verdict: India should persist with Shubman Gill for at least another one to two-year cycle.