Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has questioned Shubman Gill’s vice-captaincy appointment after the second T20I against Australia at the MCG on Friday. Gill was dismissed cheaply after scoring only five runs off 10 balls against the Aussies.
The Indian vice-captain had scored a decent unbeaten knock of 37 runs off 20 balls before rain played killjoy in the opening T20I at Manuka Oval, Canberra.
Gill has been given the opening slot in T20Is but he hasn’t been able to deliver consistently since he has been given the leadership role. The Indian opener could only manage 127 runs in the Asia Cup and thus failed to deliver consistently for India.
Kris Srikkant said on his YouTube Channel, “They won’t drop Gill for the next three games. They are not worried about anything else. He is the vice-captain for the T20 World Cup, that’s fixed now. It’s also fixed that he’s the future T20I captain. So they have to play with him and build the balance for the rest of the side. He’s a certainty or else on what basis has he been appointed the vice-captain?”
“Yashasvi Jaiswal is waiting in the wings. He’s not there in the team. With Gill’s inclusion, the overall balance has gone for a toss so they aren’t sure of what to do. Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma don’t have a fixed position and Arshdeep Singh is missing out on the 11. The only good thing is the T20 World Cup is in India so they’ll escape.”
The former Indian captain said a talented batter like Yashasvi Jaiswal is unfortunate to miss out in India’s T20I playing XI. Jaiswal had scored 559 runs in IPL 2025 for Rajasthan Royals.
“India has a lot of players like Abhishek. If players like Yashasvi Jaiswal are given an opportunity, they’ll utilise it. But now he has no window to come into the side. Only Hardik Pandya can come into the 11 and nobody else. Jaiswal also came through the IPL and has an outstanding record in all formats and the IPL. I am not sure why he isn’t playing with a brilliant IPL and T20I record. Give him the same opportunities, he’ll destroy bowlers at the top,” said Srikkanth.
The third T20I between India and Australia will be played at Hobart on Sunday.
