"Doesn't have to follow Abhishek Sharma or Sanju Samson" - Ex-Indian cricketer's advice to Shubman Gill after IND vs SA 2025 1st T20I

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has offered advice to Shubman Gill amid the latter's struggles in T20Is. With Gill managing a single-figure score in the opening T20I against South Africa in Cuttack, Pathan urged him to stop playing as expansively as Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.

Although the right-handed batter collected a boundary off the first ball he faced, he stepped out on the very next delivery and spooned a catch to mid-off. Since returning to the T20I side in September 2025, the youngster hasn't scored a half-century, and his highest score is 47.

Speaking in a recent video on his YouTube channel 'Irfan Pathan,' he pointed out that it was the first time in T20Is that the 26-year-old lost his wicket to a pacer while stepping out. The 41-year-old advised Gill that he must play risk-free cricket initially, elaborating:

"The big question is how to define Shubman Gill’s role. The way Abhishek Sharma plays, Gill might think of performing that way. He hit a four in the very first over and he stepped out after that. It was only the first over and that’s not his game. In T20Is, Gill has never been dismissed stepping out to a pacer. It was the first time it happened. It shows his mindset. It’s simple. He doesn’t have to follow neither Sanju Samson or Abhishek Sharma. He has to be the Shubman Gill which we all know."

"He times the ball so well and that’s his game. First, he must play some risk-free cricket to accumulate runs and then play according to the pitch and game situation. His strike rate is currently 140. Not that Gill hasn’t scored runs and averages 29 in recent times."

He continued:

"Just that, he shouldn’t try to be a different mould. He is an established player and India’s captain. The way I see it, he is trying too much to step out and be aggressive or he is trying to play attacking cricket like Sanju Samson, who is currently benched. Instead, he must stick to his own strengths and try to score runs from there. So far, Gill has scored runs according to his game. If he does anything else, it will be difficult as his consistency will be impacted."

Pathan also suggested that India can't make a change at this stage, else both Samson and Gill will play under pressure.

"If Samson would have played, he should be opening the innings. He shouldn’t think of replicating Samson as it’s not good for the team. Gill will get chances now. India can’t make changes now as it will do no good for neither Gill nor Samson. Samson will also be under pressure if he plays. If Gill is being backed, he should be himself and shouldn’t try too much," he added.

Despite his strong numbers while opening for India, Samson hasn't consistently played T20Is. The Kerala-born cricketer's three T20I centuries have come while opening, and he has a strike rate of 178.77 in that spot.

"The way South Africa bowled initially, it seemed they had a plan" - Irfan Pathan on Proteas' tactics against India in Cuttack

In the same video, Pathan said it was surprising to see Abhishek Sharma not getting off the blocks as quickly as he usually does. He said:

"India had lost three wickets early on. The way South Africa bowled initially, it seemed they had a plan. They didn’t pitch the ball up, especially to Abhishek Sharma. They planned to give Abhishek Sharma no room. When did you last see that the powerplay had ended and Abhishek’s score was less than 20? We had seen that. They tied him in knots and dismissed him for less than 20 runs. I was looking forward to it. If there’s a better plan for him, then Abhishek would get the chance to counter it better, especially before the World Cup."

India defended the score of 175 comfortably, winning by 101 runs to go 1-0 up in the five-match series.