“If Shubman Gill was from Tamil Nadu…” – Badrinath alleges regional bias in BCCI’s selection

When Shubman Gill made that glorious 91 at the Gabba in 2021, everyone thought we had found the next great Test batter for the Indian cricket team. Most expected he’d be the heir to Virat Kohli. He was a naturally aggressive batter who took the game on and showed his might in Australia. All the signs were there. Four years later, he averages 35.05 in Test cricket after 32 matches.

Given his talent, he’s been given a very long rope by the Indian management. He’s played under three head coaches, and all have shown faith in him. But, for former Indian cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath, the reason why he’s being persisted with is because he’s from the north of India.

“If this was Shubman Gill from Tamil Nadu, he would have been dropped. It is very difficult for me to see this. For that level, he has not lived up to expectations,” Badrinath said on Star Sports Tamil, alleging a bias in the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) selection. 

Shubman Gill Test record since 2024

	Innings	Runs	Average	100s	50s	Highest Score
Home	17	760	50.66	3	3	119*
Away	7	139	19.85	0	0	36

“If you can’t get runs, at least show intent and aggression. I wanted him to tire out the bowlers, to make the ball old. Help your teammates and stand firm even if runs are not coming. Play 100 balls, and tire the bowlers. This is what your team contribution (is supposed to be). Labuschagne and McSweeney did that in a couple of games. By playing out a lot of dot balls, they had actually made Bumrah injured,” he added.

“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. 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?” the former Chennai Super Kings batter concluded.