[IND vs SA 2025] 'The time has come' - Ex-India batter calls for Shubman Gill replacement in T20I squad

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has urged the team management to sideline vice-captain Shubman Gill ahead of the fourth and fifth match of the ongoing T20I series against South Africa. Gill's scores in the first three matches of the series read 4 off 2 in Cuttack, 0 off 1 in New Chandigarh, and 28 off 28 in Dharamshala.

Gill has not been at his best in T20Is for quite some while now. In his last 10 innings, he has possessed a strike rate of only 127.65 while not being able to rack up a match-defining knock. Kaif commented on how other players and in particular Sanju Samson deserve the opportunity to express themselves in the remainder of the series over the Punjab-born, who has received increased backing from the management.

"If you want to keep things in control, don't use the word 'drop' (with Gill), just say that you are giving him a break or want to try out a different player. But they have to go with a new player in these next two matches. Whomever that player is, he deserves those matches, he has the right. He must be thinking Gill is playing for a year, and I have been dropped after 2-3 poor innings. That player is Sanju Samson," shared Kaif in a video on his YouTube channel.

The 45-year-old felt it is about time that the think tank take a firm call on the 26-year-old opening batter after a lean patch of form. He opined that Gill did not deserve the 'special treatment' given to 'X-factor players' in the past. 

"There may be one or two players, like X-factor players who deserve special treatment in terms of opportunities, but look at Shubman Gill now, how many innings has he got already? It is not like we have started talking about this now, we have been talking about this for quite some time now. You have to take a call now, the time has come," he added.

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India ended up winning the third T20I of the series against the Proteas by a seven-wicket margin. The fourth and fifth T20Is are scheduled to be held in Lucknow and Ahmedabad on December 17 and December 19, respectively.