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‘He didn’t want…’: Indian legend slams Shubman Gill for not having a final word while deciding Playing XI
Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar believes Shubman Gill did not have the final confirmation on the team's playing XI, and that this decision not not have any outer factors affecting it.
Last Updated on - July 27, 2025 1:12 PM IST
Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar believes Shubman Gill might not have had the final word while selecting the playing XI. Gavaskar believes selecting the team is a decision that should only be taken by the captain and not have anyone else’s influence, not even the head coach.
This debate has been triggered by the continued exclusion of left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, and especially after the record-breaking century by Joe Root in the ongoing fourth Test- where he became the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket.
“At the end of the day, it is the captain’s team. You can’t say that he didn’t want somebody like, in Shardul Thakur’s case or Kuldeep Yadav’s case, that he didn’t want them, maybe Shubman didn’t want Shardul in the team and wanted Kuldeep,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports.
Kuldeep Yadav has remailed benched for all the matches in the ongoing series, even though he is a strong match against Joe Root- as he has dismissed Root twice in three balls across two limited-overs games in 2018 at Manchester and Lord’s.