“If this was Shubman Gill from Tamil Nadu, he would have been dropped” - Former CSK star’s brutal attack on India batter after BGT 2024-25

Former India batter Subramaniam Badrinath launched a scathing attack on Shubman Gill following a dismal 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series campaign in Australia. The youngster failed to step up with the bat at No. 3, and was even dropped for the Boxing Day clash in Melbourne.

Gill's tour began on a sour note. He sustained a fractured finger during a match simulation, causing him to miss the series opener in Perth. While the right-handed batter managed to amass a decent set of starts in Adelaide, he failed to convert them into something significant. This was followed by a horrendous shot selection in Brisbane, leading to his omission from the team.

Gill returned to the playing XI in place of Rohit Sharma for the series finale, but once again, his temperament was questioned after he departed with only a couple of starts to his name.

While speaking on Star Sports, Badrinath lambasted the management for giving Gill such a long rope, and opined that had he been from Tamil Nadu, he would have been dropped from the squad a long time back.

"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," Badrinath said on Star Sports Tamil (via Hindustan Times).

"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. If this was Shubman Gill from Tamil Nadu, he would have been dropped," Badrinath added.

Gill's series ended with only 93 runs in five innings at an average of 18.60. His highest score was 31 runs during the first innings of the second Test at the Adelaide Oval.

"What does he contribute to the team?" - Subramanian Badrinath on Shubman Gill

The pressure has been immense on Shubman Gill since his switch to No. 3. With his overseas numbers not backing his potential, he had the tall ask of playing the role that Pujara did in India's previous tours of Australia.

However, playing out only 163 deliveries in the entire series meant that the middle-order was always exposed to the new ball.

"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," Badrinath said.

"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 concluded.

Gill is in desperate need of a spark in the longest format if he wishes to hold onto the spot in the batting order in the long run.