'A non-controversy that has been made a controversy' - Aakash Chopra on rumours around Shubman Gill's release from T20 World Cup squad

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra recently addressed the ongoing drama surrounding Shubman Gill’s social media activity. According to reports which emerged a few days ago, the young Indian batter was apparently sent back to India due to disciplinary issues. It was also reported that Shubman Gill had unfollowed Indian skipper Rohit Sharma on Instagram. 

Shubman Gill was part of the Indian squad as a traveling reserve along with Rinku Singh, Avesh Khan, and Khaleel Ahmed. Aakash Chopra, while speaking on his YouTube channel, said -

“A non-controversy that has been made a controversy. I got hold of a poster where it was first written - 'Shubman Gill unfollowed captain Rohit Sharma'. This is the first. Below that, it was written - 'Removed from the squad. Shubman Gill has been released and sent back to India by BCCI'".

“After that - 'Disciplinary issues, he was not traveling with the team and was spending time away from the team'. I saw this poster on Instagram. After that, Shubman Gill posted a story - 'Sammy and I are learning the art of discipline from Rohit Sharma'. Sammy - I am sure he is talking about Samaira, who is Rohit's daughter," added Chopra.

This was a plan from the beginning - Vikram Rathour

After the game between India and Canada was abandoned, Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour addressed the media. One of the first questions invariably asked was about the apparent rift between Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.

Rathour, while speaking to the media, said, “This was a plan from the beginning. When we come to the US, four players will come together. After that two will be released and two will travel with us to West Indies. So, this plan was made from the beginning since the team was selected. This was planned so we are just following that."

Shubman Gill, meanwhile, posted a few pictures with Rohit Sharma and daughter Samaira to take a cheeky dig at the reports. One of the pictures on social media handle was captioned “Sammy (Samaira) and I learning the art of discipline from Rohit Sharma”