Indian cricket fans were in for quite the shock on Saturday (December 20) after designated vice-captain Shubman Gill was dropped from the national team’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad.
After failing to hit a half-century since his return to the T20I fold as deputy during the Asia Cup 2025, Gill was under severe scrutiny, especially with Sanju Samson warming the bench. As it turned out, the 26-year-old was left out of the side, and Axar Patel was named the new vice-captain.
In the squad announcement presser, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar offered explanation on Gill’s omission, stating that team balance outweighed individual considerations.
Meanwhile, India head coach Gautam Gambhir has been accused of overruling Agarkar to push the case for Gill’s snub.
According to a PTI report, Gill’s omission was effectively decided midweek, when the fourth T20I between India and South Africa in Lucknow was called off due to severe fog.
The report cited BCCI sources to claim that Gill was neither informed by the selectors nor by skipper Suryakumar Yadav or Gambhir until the morning of the announcement.
The report suggested the team management had already moved on from Gill, using a minor toe injury later as a convenient exit route, even though the right-handed opener was willing to play the fifth T20I in Ahmedabad.
The injury was feared to be a hairline fracture initially but was later found to be only a minor bruise, the report claimed.
“Shubman Gill sustained an impact injury to his right foot while batting in the nets on 16th December in Lucknow. After consulting a specialist and getting treatment with the BCCI medical team, he is improving but will be unavailable for selection for the final T20I in Ahmedabad," a BCCI statement said before the match.
Gill was replaced by Sanju Samson, who has now become the front-runner to open the batting for India alongside Abhishek Sharma in the upcoming World Cup.
Gill’s return to the T20I fold as deputy during the Asia Cup 2025 didn’t yield best of returns as he scored only 127 runs in seven innings at an average of 21.16 and a strike rate of 151.19. He failed to make a mark in the subsequent five T20Is on the tour of Australia, amassing 132 runs at a strike rate of 136.08 without a half-century.
Gill featured in three T20Is against South Africa and returned with scores of 4, 0 and 28. As per the report, the failure against the Proteas contributed to the decision but a former selector believes the timing points to a ‘course correction’ by Agarkar-led panel, with strong influence from Gambhir,
“If making him vice-captain for the Asia Cup riding on his England Test heroics was a wrong move as Sanju (Samson) had done nothing wrong, the move to drop him just five games before the start of the T20 World Cup indicates that it is more of a course correction done by Agarkar’s panel. And the decision has more footprints of the head coach, who’s actually not known for maintaining continuity," PTI quoted the former national selector as saying.
On the other hand, Suryakumar retained his position as T20I captain despite his constant failures lately. He has managed to score only 218 runs across 21 matches and 19 innings in 2025, averaging just over 13, with the best score of 47* to his credit.
While captains often get the extra backing in such situations, Surya also has the benefit of spending most of the past couple of years as the No.1-ranked T20I batter. However, the report said this decision may lead to mistrust in the dressing room and strain Gill’s relationship with Gambhir.
(With PTI Inputs)
