India's head coach, Gautam Gambhir, remained silent amid a media frenzy over Shubman Gill's unexpected absence from the T20 World Cup roster.

When Gambhir arrived at Delhi airport immediately after the 15-member squad was revealed, he was surrounded by reporters who wanted to know his thoughts on the choice. Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector, made a brave step by leaving out the 26-year-old vice-captain and Test/ODI captain.

Gill returned to T20Is during the Asia Cup, replacing Sanju Samson at the top of the order, but struggled for form, hitting 291 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 137.26 without a fifty, with his highest score of 47 against Pakistan.

Injuries exacerbated Gill's problems. A toe niggle pulled him out of the final T20I against South Africa, allowing Samson to come in and knock 37 off 22 balls.

With Gill and Jitesh Sharma sidelined, Samson was announced as an opener alongside Abhishek Sharma. Suryakumar Yadav has picked Axar Patel as his new T20I vice-captain.

Gautam Gambhir arrived at the Delhi airport as the Indian team has a break till January 11, when the New Zealand ODI series begins. He was mobbed by reporters as soon as he landed and made his way outside. They wanted a sound bite from him about the exclusion of Shubman Gill.

However, Gambhir remained poised and controlled and refused to answer their queries and walked straight to his car, and drove away.

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