Indian cricket fans were in for quite the shock on Saturday (December 20) after Shubman Gill was dropped from the national team’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad.
Having failed to hit a half-century in 15 innings 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 World Cup side and Axar Patel was named the vice-captain in his place.
In the squad announcement presser, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar offered explanation on Gill’s snub, stating that team balance outweighed individual considerations.
Although it was a brave call, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was not surprised by Shubman Gill's omission from the upcoming T20 World Cup squad, citing a tactic pioneered by Rohit Sharma.
“Obviously, Shubman Gill had been given a lot of backing. The selectors showed a lot of faith because he was directly appointed vice-captain. Right now, it has become very very clear as to what looks like a very very good combination. I believe the feedback should also have come from Indian team management because we have to remember that India changed their style of play inside the powerplay. Rohit (Sharma) had shown it in the last World Cup. And that’s the style they wanted to continue. And Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma personify that particular passage and pattern of play,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“Actually, this is irrelevant. I have said before that the combination and formula will change. And that’s what has happened. I am not surprised. Because I think the way it was going and we also talked that you should give the next two T20s if he is available. Unfortunately, Shubman got injured and the way he got injured and Sanju came into the side, it was only a formality that this was going to happen," he added.
Additionally, Jitesh Sharma was left out of the T20 World Cup squad, with Ishan Kishan being slotted in as the second wicketkeeper-batter after his dominating performance in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Jharkhand.
Finisher Rinku Singh also returned to the Indian T20I side after being ignored for the recently concluded five-match series against South Africa.
India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026 and New Zealand series: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vc), Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan
