Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra breaks silence on Shubman Gill’s performance vs South Africa T20Is, says…

Ashish Nehra stands by Shubman Gill despite doubts about his T20 performance, asking for patience and cautioning against rushing to conclusions because the format can be unpredictable.

Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra is not pleased with the quick criticism surrounding captain Shubman Gill’s recent form. He believes judging a player after only a handful of T20 matches is unfair, especially in a format known for its unpredictability.

Shubman Gill who came back into the T20I side as vice-captain during the Asia Cup, has scored 181 runs in his last 10 matches with a strike rate of under 140. Ashish Nehra, who has worked closely with Gill as Gujarat Titans’ head coach for the last two seasons, was asked whether Shubaman Gill’s form worried him with the IPL only three months away.

“Forget three months, had IPL been three weeks away, I (still) wouldn’t be worried. Because you are talking about a format like T20. And only two matches have been played against South Africa, if I am not wrong,” Ashish Nehra who is known for speaking plainly, told PTI this during a conversation with a small group of reporters.

Ashish Nehra feels that the biggest problem with criticism in India is that players are often judged only by their statistics.

“This is our problem. In such a fast-paced tournament format, whether it’s international cricket or IPL, if a player like Shubman Gill is judged after not coming good in two to three matches, then it will be difficult,” Nehra said.

“You have a lot of options if you want to see. You can remove Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill and you can open with Sai Sudharsan and Ruturaj Gaikwad,” Ashish Nehra remarked and his criticism of the critics was evident.

“If you want to remove them (Sai and Ruturaj), you can open with Washington Sundar and Ishan Kishan. So, you have a lot of options. Now, if you lose 1 or 2 matches, if the stats of the so-called batsmen or bowlers are not good and if you talk about changing them, then it will be difficult,” Ashish Nehra strongly defended Gill.