The Indian squad for the upcoming tour to West Indies was announced on Sunday, 21 July by the Chairman of Selectors MSK Prasad in the presence of Virat Kohli.
While there were some new additions in the team, the exclusion of Shubman Gill has made a lot of noise in the Indian cricketing fraternity. There has been questions as to why despite consistent performance the youngster was denied an opportunity.
Prasad on his part said that he is in the waiting list at the moment and is definitely a part of Team India’s future roadmap. “We have taken India ‘A’ performances into consideration,” was Prasad’s statement after he selected the team.
Gill’s performances for India A in the recent past has not been nothing short of remarkable which makes his non-selection questionable.
India A vs West Indies A (July 2019)
Gill finished the series as the top-scorer for India A against West Indies A with 218 runs from 4 matches with an average of 54.50, including three fifties, The right-handed batsman from Punjab displayed his credentials with the bat.
With the whole agenda of this selection being giving a chance to youngsters, Gill’s exclusion, that too when is consistently performing, is baffling to say the least.
India A vs Sri Lanka A (June 2019)
Before playing the series against West Indies, Gill was part of the India A which played Sri Lanka A. There too, he performed well with the bat. He scored 133 runs from 4 matches batting in the middle-order for India A including a unbeaten century (109 retired hurt) in the second game.
India A vs New Zealand A (December 2018)
The India A team played a three-match ODI series to the build up to India’s limited-overs series against the Kiwis. Gill scored 62 from two matches averaging 31 and then he made his debut for the senior team.
India A Team Quadrangular Series 2018 (August 2018)
Gill was also a part of the India B team which played the quadrangular series with India A and South Africa A and Australia A. Playing for India B, Gill scored 154 runs from four matches including an unbeaten 66 against Australia A in Bengaluru. He also scored two forty plus scores against South Africa A and India A respectively.
With India set to play the Windies with a talented ‘young’ squad, it will be interesting to see how they go about their business and if Gill’s absence will be felt or not.
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