The decision has taken aback the fans with the event only less than two months away.
Since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released the reigning champions’ squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, the sudden omission of the vice-captain, Shubman Gill, from the 15-member team has sparked quite a buzz among the fans.
Notably, the current Test and ODI skipper of India was not part of the 20-over setup in recent times. But after handing over the Test leadership to the 26-year-old, following the former captain Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the format, he was also included in India’s T20I side before the Asia Cup 2025.
Many believed that Gill’s rapid appointment as the deputy of skipper Suryakumar Yadav indicated towards his takeover as the all-format captain of India in the coming future. But his inconsistent numbers in the shortest format of the game changed the script, as he was unexpectedly dropped from India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad.
However, as per a Times of India report, the toe injury before the fourth India vs South Africa T20I made his absence from the World Cup squad confirmed, as the management was looking to shift back to the proven opening combination of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.
Though the match was abandoned due to the extreme foggy conditions in Lucknow, the batter was reportedly available for selection before the fifth and final T20I in Ahmedabad.
“Shubman Gill could have played as the niggle was minor and there was no fracture etc. But it was a cautious decision to not rush him for the match,” a source informed TOI.
ALSO READ:
Team India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Suryakumar focused on how the need of a keeper-opener option for flexibility forced them to exclude Gill from the squad. Instead, they opted for Ishan Kishan, who has recently had a stellar title-winning campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025.
“We felt the keeper at the top at this point gives us a lot more solidity than anywhere else in the team to play different combinations,” opined Agarkar.
“It’s not about his form or anything. It’s just about the combination right now. We wanted to have a keeper at the top. We wanted to have someone like Rinku Singh or maybe a Washington Sundar later on, to have a different combination. So that’s why we brought in that extra wicketkeeper at the top,” noted the skipper.
However, according to the Times, the decision was not previously conveyed to the batter, as a source stated that he was informed about the development just ahead of the press-conference on Saturday afternoon.
“Shubman Gill was spoken to before the meeting. Obviously, we can’t give the details but he explained the combination call. Unfortunate for him but at the end of the day you need the but at the end of the day you need the best combination for the World Cup,” added a BCCI official.
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Axar Patel (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
