'If you perform you will sit out' - Netizens in disbelief on in-form Shubman Gill's absence from India's playing XI for Nagpur Test

With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy finally underway at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur, the Indian team management made a very difficult decision of making Shubman Gill sit out for the first Test. Considering Gill’s recent form, many veteran players had backed the 23-year-old to open the batting alongside skipper Rohit Sharma.

Gill was a part of the Test squad in their previous series, when team India locked horns with Bangladesh and the 23-year-old even scored his maiden Test ton; however, despite his fabulous form, team India have decided to go in with KL Rahul as their opener alongside Rohit Sharma.

Gill is still trying to establish himself in the Test squad, he has played 13 matches so far and has managed to score 736 runs with one century and four fifties. The Fazilka-born's recent form was one of the biggest reasons why he was expected to be in the line-up for the first Test.

Gill has impressed with his form in the white-ball formats recently, scoring a century in T20I cricket as well when India went up against New Zealand in the final game of the three-match series recently. While facing the Black Caps, Gill scored a fabulous knock of 126* off 63 balls as India won the game comfortably.

Apart from the return of KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav and KS Bharat have also been awarded with their Test debuts. Suryakumar has into the squad as team India are missing the services of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, as both players are out due to injuries. The Aussies also handed a Test debut to the 22-year-old off break bowler Todd Murphy.

Fans took to Twitter to express their disbelief after Gill missed out on the playing XI. Many opposed the inclusion of vice-captain KL Rahul in the squad due to his poor run of form. Rahul last played in a Test series against Bangladesh, where he was able to register the highest score of just 23 in four innings.

Here is how Twitter reacted to Shubman Gill's absence:

Shubman Gill Should Stop Scoring And Kuldeep Should Stop Taking Wickets

If You Perform You Will Sit Out.

Clear Message From Captain Rohit Sharma And Coach Rahul Dravid.

— Vaibhav Bhola 🇮🇳 (@VibhuBhola) February 9, 2023

Imagine Travis Head and Shubman Gill having a discussion now. #INDvsAUS

— Abimanyu NN (@nnabimanyu) February 9, 2023

They benched shubman gill and chose kl rahul 😂🤦🏻‍♂️ #INDvAUS

— Pawan Mer (@MerPawan) February 9, 2023

Despite being at the peak of form, surprisingly Shubman Gill is not in the playing XI#INDvsAUS

— Parteek Singh Mahal (@parteekmahal) February 9, 2023

Is it fair to bench in-form Shubman Gill over KL Rahul? 🤔#INDvsAUS

— Yogesh Yadav (Celtz Roxx) 🇮🇳 (@realceltzroxx) February 9, 2023

Dropping someone in red-hot form like #ShubmanGill for KL Rahul is a weird decision #INDvsAUS

— Atul Karmarkar (@atulkarmarkar) February 9, 2023

This is such an unfair selection. @ShubmanGill has been performing constantly in test cric and @klrahul with zero performances in last year and so has been added to playing XI. Such bias over few players makes cricket lovers to unfollow @BCCI @ImRo45 #IndVsAus2023 #BGT2023

— Naveen Kumar (@NaveenK90413) February 9, 2023

So Shubman Gill is the 12th man! Why.#BorderGavaskarTrophy #CricketTwitter

— G Viswanath (@Vishy10) February 9, 2023

Wow...no @ShubmanGill and no @imkuldeep18
What these guys need to do to deserve a place in the playing XI? #BGT2023 #BCCI

— Debasis Das (@debasis76) February 9, 2023

@ImRo45 you have lost your mind, really KL instead of @ShubmanGill, that a bad move. @BCCI why the hell this guy KL is in Indian Team yet😭

— Pavan Kalyan (@P_k_1_9) February 9, 2023