'Backing Shubman Gill is okay but what about better performers like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan' - Former India batter on Asia Cup squad

While former India batter Subramanium Badrinath was okay with the national selectors backing Shubman Gill and appointing him as the vice-captain in the 2025 Asia Cup squad, he expressed his shock after seeing the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan failing to make the cut.

India announced a 15-man squad for September's Asia Cup in the UAE. Shubman returned to the T20I setup for the first time since July 2024 and replaced Axar Patel as the deputy to Suryakumar Yadav. However, Badrinath believes that Jaiswal and Sudharsan performed better than the Punjab batter in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and deserved spots in the squad for the continental competition. The cricketer-turned-expert also feels that Shubman's inclusion puts Sanju Samson's place in the playing XI in doubt.

"I see this mostly as a positive that they are backing a youngster and projecting him for the future. But what about Yashasvi Jaiswal? He has done even better than Shubman Gill. Also, why has Sai Sudharsan missed out after scoring 700 runs in IPL 2025 and performing better than Shubman Gill? Sanju Samson himself is now in doubt to start in the playing 11," Badrinath said while speaking in a video on his YouTube channel.

"So while backing Shubman Gill, you ask what wrong have Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan done when their numbers are better than Gill's. Is this selection based on recency bias? This has been happening in India cricket forever - pick the player doing the best at the moment even if the formats are different. It's not a bad decision but one that's 50-50," he added.

Did Shubman's stunning performance in England Tests influence selectors' decision? Badrinath answers

Shubman won the Player of the Series against England for his consistent performances during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which ended earlier this month. The right-handed batter finished as the highest run-getter in the series and also led the side commendably. Badrinath opined that his performances on the tour helped him earn a recall to the T20 side.

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"Shubman Gill hasn't even been consistently in the T20 setup over the last 2-3 years. Yet, he has been made the vice-captain of this particular side. It is clear the influence of his excellent captaincy and performance in the England series despite that being Test cricket. So he is definitely going to open the batting with Abhishek Sharma," said Badrinath.