IND vs SA: Gambhir’s Bold Call? Shubman Gill Likely to Be Dropped, Sanju Samson Set for Comeback
India may drop Shubman Gill for the 3rd T20I vs South Africa, with Sanju Samson likely to return as Gautam Gambhir plans changes.
Sanju Samson and Shubman Gill during an India vs South Africa T20I series match.
India could take a surprise step by dropping vice-captain Shubman Gill in Dharamsala on Sunday as he was unable to perform in the previous games. The five-match T20I series is at one match victory for each side, and Team India is eager to recover forces after the lost match in Mullanpur.
The Indian players, with the exception of Gill who was not in the squad, have already gone to the nets up at the airport in Dharamsala and a net session is planned for Saturday. Meanwhile, reports say that coach Gautam Gambhir is contemplating drastic measures to the team line-up in order to get the upper hand in the pivotal third game.
Sanju Samson Back in the XI?
Several reports say that wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson is about to come into the team instead of Shubman Gill. Before Gill’s return to the T20 team earlier this year, India used to open with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju regularly. The latter performed superbly in the T20 openers, hitting three centuries among others.
But after Gill's return, Samson lost his spot, and he has usually been on the bench even though he is part of the squad. This decision has faced criticism from former players and the public who have been questioning whether the management is doing this to bring Gill at the forefront while pushing Samson back.
Gill’s Struggles in T20Is
The vice-captain has been struggling to find his form in international T20 cricket. He has only managed to score 263 runs in 14 innings with an average of 23.90 this year. His non-performance in both T20I matches against South Africa has only made the case for his dropping from the format stronger.
As per the BCCI sources, Gambhir is now leaning towards the idea of bringing Samson back into the XI as that would give India a more assertive opening. Whether Gill will actually be the one to miss out for the third match will only be known when the teams are announced on the day of the match.
Predicted India Playing XI for 3rd T20I
Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (Wicketkeeper), Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
All eyes will now be on Dharamsala to see if Gambhir makes this bold selection call in a must-win encounter for India.
