‘There is no need to create such insecurity’ – Saba Karim against the idea of naming Shubman Gill’s replacement for England Tests

Shubman Gill’s injury has given Team India a major blow ahead of the upcoming five-match Test series against England, starting from August 4. Gill has emerged as a vital cog of the Indian Test team ever since making his debut in the format against Australia last year. However, a serious leg injury meant the young opener is ruled out of the entire England tour.

With Gill going out of the picture, the biggest question is who’ll open alongside Rohit Sharma in the upcoming series? Although there are potential backs in Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, and Abhimanyu Easwaran (reserve player), several reports claimed that the head coach Ravi Shastri wants Prithvi Shaw, who’s currently in Sri Lanka with the limited-overs team, to fly to England as Gill’s replacement.

These reports led to questions being raised on why India didn’t include Shaw in the first place. The team management also faced criticism for not showing confidence in the players who are already in the squad. Speaking of the same, former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Saba Karim said that this thought process might create insecurity among players.

There is no need to create such insecurity: Saba Karim

“I will never feel it is justified because if you send an additional replacement the players already in the team will feel extremely insecure. There is no need to create such insecurity. I feel you have to show some faith in the job done by the selectors. I still cannot believe that such a demand would have come from the team management. But if it has come, I feel it is not justifiable,” Saba Karim said on India News.

“The question here is why they need a replacement when they have so many openers in the reserve. It is difficult to say from here what could be the reason behind the team management asking for a replacement,” he added.

Having expressed reservation against the idea of naming Gill’s replacement, Karim also pointed out that the team management might want an extra opener due to the situation which occurred in Australia earlier this year. For the unversed, a flurry of players including Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravichandran Ashwin sustained injuries midway during the series Down Under. Hence, Karim opined that team management might want a replacement to avoid any shortage of players.