Fans troll Shubham Gill-led Team India after defeat vs Zimbabwe

They said, “Won’t understand the importance of Rohit, Kohli.”

Fans were salty and called out Shubham Gill-led Team India for their performance at the recent match against Zimbabwe in the five-match series against them. Team India lost against Zimbabwe, getting defeated by 13 runs in the first T20I on Saturday in Harare.

BCCI selectors introduced a fresh line of players for a five-match series against Zimbabwe.

Following the T20 World Cup 2024 victory, the absence of cricketing icons like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli was keenly felt. The BCCI selectors’ decision to introduce a second-string team led by Shubham Gill for the five-match series against Zimbabwe, including youngsters like Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag, was met with criticism. Unfortunately, their strategy did not yield the desired results, and Team India suffered a 13-run defeat in the first T20I in Harare on Saturday, July 6.

Team India’s score in the five-match series against Zimbabwe.

India were bowled out 102 in 19.5 overs, chasing 116 as Sikandar Raza and Tendai Chatara returned with figures of 3/25 and 3/16, respectively. Clive Madande’s unbeaten 25-ball, 29-run knock took Zimbabwe to 115/9 in 20 overs. However, Indian bowler Ravi Bishnoi took four wickets.

Indian fans slammed the Shubham Gill-led Team India.

Naturally, the defeat wasn’t received positively by Indian fans, who slammed the Shubham Gill-led Team India. Reacting, one fan wrote on X, “Bade aye IPL ke stars. They won’t understand the importance of Rohit-Kohli in ICT.” Another fan wrote on a funny note, “Nobody had an interest in watching the bilateral match against Zimbabwe without Rohit-Kohli. So they decided to lose the first match and make the series interesting and get the attention.”

Reflecting on the defeat, Gill expressed his disappointment, saying, “We bowled pretty well; we let ourselves down in the field. We were not up to standard, and everyone looked a bit rusty. We spoke about taking time and enjoying our batting, but it didn’t pan out that way. Halfway through we had lost 5 wickets, would’ve been best for us if I stayed there till the end, very disappointed with the way I got out and the rest of the match panned out.” His words underscore the team’s determination to learn from this experience and improve in the future.