Sunil Gavaskar Backs BCCI’s Domestic Cricket Initiative For Selection Criteria: ‘Shubman Gill Is Sending The Right Signal’

Shubman Gill led Team India for the very first time in Test cricket in the recently concluded England tour. The 25-year-old took over the charge from Rohit Sharma, who announced his retirement from Test cricket recently.

Gill had a very successful outing with the bat, finishing as the highest run scorer in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The Gujarat Titans batter stamped his authority in his first series as the captain and earned plaudits for his leadership skills from all over the world. With no more international cricket till the Asia Cup, a bunch of national players are expected to feature in the Duleep Trophy, which is slated to start from August 18.

As per reports, the BCCI made it mandatory for players to take part in domestic competitions to be eligible for selection for the Indian Cricket Team. Shubman Gill will lead the North Zone, and Sunil Gavaskar has praised the BCCI’s initiative to involve more and more national players in domestic cricket.

In the column for Sportstar, he wrote, “It was good, therefore, to see that after the tour to Bangladesh was postponed to next year, the BCCI resisted the pressure to send a team for a white-ball series to Sri Lanka this month. By doing that, the BCCI have prioritised domestic cricket, as it means that now most, if not all, of the top players will be available to play in the Duleep Trophy tournament starting shortly. Shubman Gill captaining the North Zone team is a massive shot in the arm for this tournament.”

Mohammed Shami has also been included in the squad for the East Zone. The 34-year-old is expected to feature in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal against North Zone, and as per The Telegraph, his performance will be monitored to determine whether he is capable of making a return to the Indian Test squad. Persistent injury issues have been a major concern, and the player was ruled out of the England series just before the selection meeting. Shami last played for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy against Madhya Pradesh last November.