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.

Wicketkeeper-batter Samson was restored as the first-choice opener and another glovesman Ishan Kishan, who slammed a century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final last week, made it to the squad as backup option. As a result, Jitesh Sharma was left out of the T20 World Cup squad as well.

Some of the decisions made by selectors caught the fans, experts and a lot of former cricketers by surprise. Robin Uthappa was also taken aback by the moves as he didn’t see them coming.

"Indian cricket. It is a strange place, guys. It is one strange place. You think that there's some semblance of predictability with what could happen and the team gets announced. I'm not saying the team's not a great side. It's a great side. It's a fantastic side, but hearts are broken for sure and it doesn't feel good, and anyone who's ever played cricket will know what that feels like for Shubman and will know what that feels like for Jitesh, and it is heartbreaking. I empathise with them."

"Shubman Gill, on the other hand, you got to feel bad for him because the captain of the Test side, captain of the one-day side. The worst-case scenario, I thought, somebody else will be made vice captain, but he'll find a spot in the side, maybe not in the 11, but he'll find a spot in the side as a 3rd opener because Jitesh did nothing wrong. He's done exceptionally well," said Uthappa while speaking on his YouTube channel.

While the former India cricketer was pleased with the squad picked for the marquee tournament, he wondered if more surprises will be in store for the fans.

"I'm personally very happy for Sanju Samson. He goes back up to the top of the order with Abhishek Sharma. Obviously, we don't know if there's going to be more surprises if Kishan's going to open or Sanju's going to open. How do you predict this stuff? But this is the stuff that's happening in Indian cricket, but wow, mind-blown."

"The larger message, that's what concerns me. There's a larger message that's sent when you make a decision like this to the entire group, to all of Indian cricket, to the entire fraternity, that anything can happen, and it can breed a lot of insecurity, which is something that bothers me. But so it is. Good luck, Team India. I'm certain you guys will do well, Shubman and Jitesh. This page will also turn. This time shall also pass. Stay strong," Uthappa remarked.

India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026: 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