Shubman Gill last played a T20I in December 2025.
The reigning champions, India, are set to kick off their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against the United States of America (USA) on February 7. However, star opener Shubman Gill, who captains the national side in the other two formats, will not be seen in action during the multinational event. The answer is simple: Gill has been dealing with a poor form in the 20-over format.
India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026
Soon after India’s triumphant run in the T20 World Cup 2024, Shubman Gill was out of the 20-over squad for more than a year. Since the former captains Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s retirement from the format, the explosive duo of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson had already fixed their opening spot with some blazing partnerships.
But after a stellar IPL 2025 season, scoring 650 runs in 15 matches, the Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper was recalled to the squad and took over the position of vice-captain in the Asia Cup 2025. This pushed Samson down in the batting order, as the 26-year-old started to open the innings in T20Is alongside Abhishek.
Though the batter tried to change his natural gameplay in order to fit in with the team’s current strategy, he could only manage 291 runs in 15 appearances, including the Australia and South Africa series after the subcontinental T20 tournament.
Gill’s poor run, which saw only two 40-plus scores in the last four months, forced the Indian management to go back to the blistering opening pair of Abhishek and Samson before hosting the T20 World Cup 2026. The right-hander was dropped from the team facing New Zealand in the preparatory five-match series and for the subsequent mega ICC event.
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His sudden omission from the defending champions’ T20 World Cup 2026 squad had taken aback the Indian fans. But Gill addressed the matter during the pre-match press conference before kick-starting the ODI series against the Black Caps.
“Obviously, you have that belief that if you play the World Cup, you can win the game for your team and country. But having said that I respected the selectors’ decision, whatever their decision is, wishing the T20 team all the very best. I really hope that they win the World Cup for us,” stated the ODI and Test captain of India.
The opener, who has put up 869 runs in his 36 T20I appearances so far, would be eager to once again make a comeback in the shortest format.
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