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Gill’s confusion hurting India; should play Kohli role: Uthappa tells Gambhir Samson fits T20 World Cup plan better
Robin Uthappa raised concerns over Shubman Gill’s T20I approach and told Gautam Gambhir that Sanju Samson suits India’s aggressive T20 World Cup plans better.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Robin Uthappa expressed concern on Wednesday about Shubman Gill's current approach in T20Is, where he has struggled since returning to the format in September for the Asia Cup. Uthappa sent a sharp message to India head coach Gautam Gambhir, saying that if the team is to take a hyper-aggressive approach in T20 cricket, then Sanju Samson is a better fit for the World Cup role than Gill.
Gill has struggled to live up to the T20I hype generated by his superb Test series in England earlier this summer. Since his return during the Asia Cup in September, he has managed just 291 runs in 15 innings at an average of 24.25 and a strike rate of 137.26, without scoring a fifty. The modest numbers have drawn criticism and put his place in India’s plans for the T20 World Cup, starting next February, under scrutiny.
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As India and South Africa awaited clarity from match officials over the start of the fourth T20I in Lucknow, delayed due to “excessive fog”, Uthappa was asked on JioHotstar about Abhishek Sharma’s ultra-aggressive approach at the top, with the opener recently stating that he looks to attack from ball one. The former T20 World Cup winner said the success of that approach would depend largely on how Gill constructs his innings at the other end.
While praising the India T20I vice-captain as a genuine all-format batter, Uthappa said Gill’s recent approach in T20 cricket has been “confusing”. He urged Gill to draw inspiration from Virat Kohli’s role in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where the former India captain played the anchor role as an opener throughout the tournament.
“I think with a player like Abhishek Sharma, you need to give him the freedom to play the way he wants. Now, does someone like Shubman Gill at the other end help him do that, or does someone like Sanju Samson, with whom he has had a strong opening partnership, allow that freedom? I’m not taking anything away from Shubman Gill — he’s a phenomenal, once-in-a-generation, three-format player," he said.
"However, the way he has been approaching T20 cricket lately has been a bit confusing and hasn’t really served him well. There is a method to how he scores runs. He can play a role similar to what Aiden Markram or Virat Kohli did for India in the 2024 T20 World Cup — batting at a strike rate of around 140–150, playing proper cricket, a template that has worked for him in the IPL and T20Is."
Uthappa pointed out that Gill, who found success in the IPL with Gujarat Titans as an anchor batter, has struggled to adapt to India’s aggressive batting template. He added that if India intend to stick to that approach for the T20 World Cup, then Samson is a better fit alongside Abhishek.
"Right now, it feels like he’s moved away from that, trying to score at 190 or 200, which hasn’t brought him much success. If he sticks to his proven approach and plays that anchor role, he can be a perfect foil for aggressive players like Abhishek Sharma. But if India want a hyper-aggressive option at the top, then Sanju Samson is the better fit," he added.
Samson was initially backed as India's opener post the 2024 T20 World Cup. He played 13 matches in the batting role, scoring 417 runs at a strike rate of 182.89, with three centuries. In 12 of those matches, he partnered Abhishek at the top of the order, where the two stitched 267 runs.
