“Just say that you are giving him a break” - Mohammad Kaif suggests team management to drop Shubman Gill

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has suggested that the Indian team management should give a small break to the struggling Shubman Gill and go ahead with any other player in the opening spot in the remaining two T20Is against South Africa.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif has asserted that Sanju Samson has the right to replace Gill, who has been struggling to score enough runs at an explosive batting rate in the powerplay overs.

"So, if you want to keep things in control, don't use the word drop (with Gill), just say that you are giving him a break, or want to try out a different player. But they have to go with a new player in these next two matches. Whomever that player is, he deserves those matches, he has the right. He must be thinking Gill is playing for a year, and I have been dropped after 2-3 poor innings. That player is Sanju Samson," Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

"There may be one or two players, like X Factor players who deserve special treatment in terms of opportunities, but look at Shubman Gill now, how many innings has he got already? It is not like we have started talking about this now, we have been talking about this for quite some time now. You have to take a call now, the time has come," he added.

For the unversed, the Indian T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill has played 15 T20I games in 2025, scoring only 291 runs at an average of 24.25 and a strike rate of 137.26 with the highest score of 47.

India’s updated squad for the last two T20Is vs SA: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed.

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