Truthful Tuesday | Shubman Gill can wait for now, India should stick with Prithvi Shaw

It is not easy to be a cricketer in Mumbai. The cut-throat competition, struggle for relevance and long train rides make it a case in point where young kids are accustomed to a life of fighting for their place. In contrast, it is also easy to be a cricketer in Mumbai, for it is the place to make a name for yourself and you have the advantage of always being on the radar as compared to most of your contemporaries from other states. Think of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma and it is an unending list. Somehow, it keeps you on your toes and a failure or two up front will be dealt with talks of nepotism, biasness and what not.

An era has passed in between - Agarwal pounced on the opportunity, scored runs everywhere he played, registered two double centuries for India and has now become one of the first names on the team sheet. However, the debate surrounding Gill and Shaw is nowhere close to being settled despite the Wellington Test being Shaw’s first red-ball game for India after that 10-wicket Windies mauling in Hyderabad. It rose to a whole new level after the Mumbaikar failed to cash in on the twin opportunities given to him at the Basin Reserve by playing one shot too many or disrespecting the Kiwi bowling attack by just operating in only two gears. Twitter was losing its cool and the call for the inclusion of Gill is now more than ever.

But is it fair? Sure enough, Shubman Gill will feel hard done by the fact that he was always there but never been picked. But wasn’t it only fair Shaw gets the first preference after scoring a double century on the first Ranji Trophy game post the conclusion of his ban period? Wasn’t Gill in the team because Shaw couldn’t have been there in the first place, however 'unfair' it was? This is the first prerequisite, albeit for no fault of Gill, but an important one anyway.

In a game that saw India, in either of the innings, failing to cross past Angelo Mathews’ individual score at the same venue a year ago, finding an escape route to drop a 21-year-old is the most cowardice act ever and I can only hope Virat Kohli won't go down that route. The captain struggled to put his bat to away-swinger, the team’s most dependable batsman was in a shell after playing even 80 balls and in such a situation, the worst thing that the team management can do is to show Shaw the exit door. It has nothing to do with Shubman Gill’s talent - something that I have been always appreciative about - but it is about preserving it in cotton wool before getting the already-placed boy to see it through.

Shaw is a fine batsman and one of the very best talents available in the country right now. However, by getting injured far too often and his self-inflicted downfall with the intake of prohibited cough-syrup, the Indian opener has done himself a bad PR which will not die down unless he settles them with a lot of runs in every match he plays. He has shown glimpses of that in the ongoing tour and if he is counseled properly, don’t be surprised seeing him turning the table upside down and rising to become the hottest batsman in the side.