Former cricketer Robin Uthappa has blamed the superstar culture for including Shubman Gill in the Indian squad for the Asia Cup and making him the vice-captain. He said on his YouTube channel that by doing this, India has created an issue for itself.

Former cricketer Robin Uthappa has blamed the star factor for including Shubman Gill in the Indian squad for the Asia Cup and making him the vice-captain. He said that by doing this, India has created an issue for itself. Gill is making a comeback in T20 after more than a year. He played his last T20 International in July 2024 on the Sri Lanka tour from where Gautam Gambhir's tenure as coach began.

On his YouTube channel, Uthappa raised questions on the team selection and said that by including Gill, the selectors themselves have created an issue for Team India. After Rohit Sharma's retirement from Tests, 25-year-old Gill was given the command of the Test team and in his first Test series as captain, the young batsman performed brilliantly in England. The Anderson-Tendulkar series was not only drawn 2-2 but Gill broke all batting records.

Uthappa also added that there is some business behind selecting Gill for the Asia Cup as he is already a superstar of Indian cricket.

Uthappa said, 'I think marketing and business narrative also have their role. This is also a part of it and that is why he has been brought. You want some special superstars to take the game forward. Shubman Gill is going to be one of them.'

Uthappa said, 'They have created a problem for themselves by bringing Shubman Gill back to T20 cricket. But I think from the perspective of Indian cricket, in every era you have superstars and they support a particular player for Indian cricket. I think that narrative is still going on.'

Uthappa did not say anything clearly about what issue arose from Gill's inclusion in the squad, but he may be pointing towards the opening pair. For the last one and a half years, the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson has been a super hit in T20. After Gill's arrival, now there will be direct competition between him and Sanju Samson for Abhishek Sharma's opening partner. The way Samson is wreaking havoc with the bat in the Kerala Cricket League, he is strengthening his claim as an opener, which will not be easy to ignore.