IND vs AUS - Shubman Gill's Form Under Scanner After India Star's Dismal Show Against Australia In 2nd T20I: 'He Has To Perform'

India vs Australia: Suryakumar Yadav-led Team India suffered a four-wicket defeat to Mitchell Marsh's Australia in the second T20I match of the series, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Friday, October 31.

Josh Hazlewood was named the 'Player of the Match' following his three-wicket haul from a four-over spell and conceding only 13 runs at an economy rate of 3.20.

Team India's batting lineup displayed a poor performance in the first inning. Only Abhishek Sharma (68) and Harshit Rana (35) performed in the game; the rest of everyone failed to touch the two-digit mark.

India opener Shubman Gill's performance came under the scanner after the 26-year-old was dismissed for five runs after playing 10 balls at a strike rate of 50.00. Gill's knock came to an end in the fourth delivery of the third over after Josh Hazlewood made the breakthrough.

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Shubman Gill's Poor Form In T20Is Raises Questions

While speaking on his official YouTube channel, former cricketer Irfan Pathan criticized Shubman Gill's performance by how the 26-year-old Sanju Samson from the opening position, who scored three centuries as an opener.

Irfan Pathan added that Shubman Gill needs to perform even though he has potential and leadership qualities. The former cricketer added that Gill needs to convert the chances that he is getting while opening for the Men in Blue.

"Coming to Shubman Gill — look, Shubman replaced Sanju Samson, who had scored three centuries as an opener, to open for India in T20Is. Gill has potential, leadership quality, and has scored a lot in the IPL. But he has to perform. In the last ten innings, he hasn’t even scored 200 runs in total. So the pressure will build on him. He’s getting opportunities and backing, but he has to convert that into performances — which we haven’t seen yet," Irfan Pathan said while speaking on his official YouTube channel.

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Shubman Gill's Stats In T20Is

Shubman Gill played his maiden T20I match for India in 2023 against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium. Since then, the 26-year-old has played 30 T20I matches, scoring 747 runs at a strike rate of 141.21 and an average of 28.73. He has scored one century and three half-centuries in the 20-over format for Team India.