India vs South Africa: Indian captain Shubman Gill's recent struggles in T20Is have given rise to immense criticism around his batting position in the format. Gill, who departed for a golden duck in the 2nd T20I against South Africa, was roped in the T20I side as an opener, replacing wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson.

Chasing a tricky 214, Gill fell to Lungi Ngidi while nicking a delivery outside the off-stump. The failure was particularly pointed out as Samson, who had performed reasonably well while opening the batting in the past, did not even make the XI while being part of the squad.

Speaking on Star Sports after India's defeat in Mullanpur, Gautam Gambhir's Robin Uthappa raised concerns over the decision to replace Samson with Gill as the opener.

Also Read: Sooryavanshi smashes 56-ball hundred

"I beg the question: what did the partnership of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson do so grossly wrong that they had to be replaced? I understand Surya in the pre-series conference, where he said Shubman has actually been in the T20 squad before Sanju got his opportunity. But when Sanju did get his opportunity, he got three hundreds. He was the first guy among the youngsters here to get hundreds in T20 cricket. It was after that when Abhishek got it, and after that when Tilak actually got it. So he perhaps even inspired the guys and challenged them, because at that point, they were figuring out who was going to be the next opener for India in T20 cricket," Uthappa said.

"So you have a proven opener, who’s averaging just below Abhishek Sharma at this point, and you decided to move him to the middle order and then slowly leave him out. What wrong has he done? is my question. He deserves to have that opportunity," he added.

He was equally blunt in his assessment of Gill’s current approach.

"It’s not working for Shubman at this point, because I also think he’s trying different things. I think he’s trying initially to go toe-to-toe at the same pace that Abhishek is going — that is not how he bats. That is not how he’s been successful in T20 cricket. How he has been successful is by taking that time, those first 10 balls, absorbing the pressure, getting in, and then once he reaches 15–20 balls, I don’t think there is a batter like Shubman Gill until he gets himself out. That’s the kind of batter he is. And I think that’s what works for him in T20 cricket," Uthappa said.

"I think he’s trying different things, and it’s not working for him, so obviously he must be feeling the heat as well, even though he’s vice-captain. And then there are narratives around — and we were talking about Sanju now missing out, even though he has not done much wrong. I mean, he’s the same guy who has got three hundreds in a year,” he added.

Also Read: Shubman Gill recent T20I stats come to light

The 25-year-old's recent form has been below average given his pedigree. In his last 14 T20I innings, Gill has scored just 263 runs at an average of 23.90 and a strike rate of 142.93.

Inputs from Agency