India T20 World Cup squad: Five blockbuster announcements made by Ajit Agarkar after 15-member unit revealed

There were several talking points from India's T20 World Cup announcement with the major one being the exclusion of Shubman Gill.

What was expected to be a routine offering turned out to be quite the shocker. The Ajit Agarkar-led All India Senior Men's Selection Committee pulled the big hits out as the 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 was unveiled at the BCCI headquarters on Saturday. No one expected the former India pacer to drop Shubman Gill from the team, regardless of the latter's dwindling returns in the format throughout 2025. But that's exactly what happened, as Agarkar once again proved he has the ability to make ruthless calls if push comes to shove.

Ajit Agarkar announced India's T20 World Cup squad on Saturday. (PTI)

Gill, who made his way back into the T20 playing XI during the Asia Cup, failed to set the stage on fire, failing to hit a single fifty. With Gill dropped, it is now known that Sanju Samson will open the batting alongside Abhishek Sharma as the management once again looks to operate at a rollicking pace for the entire duration of their inning.

Besides Gill, Agarkar also surprised one and all by recalling Ishan Kishan into the Indian squad, owing to his strong show in the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he scored more than 500 runs and also led the team to a title victory.

Just in case you missed out on hearing what Agarkar had to say, we have you covered.

Here are the top five blockbuster announcements made by Agarkar during the official press conference

Shubman Gill dropped

Gill recently missed the last T20I against South Africa due to a toe injury he sustained during a nets session. In his place, Samson opened the batting and scored 37 runs off 22 balls. At the time, no one thought Gill would find himself out of the squad for the World Cup. But when Gill's name wasn't announced by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia while reading out the team, jaws dropped.

Speaking about the decision, Agarkar said, “Shubman, we know what a quality player he is. Perhaps, shot off a little bit of runs at the moment. Unfortunate to miss out, missed out in the last World Cup as well. But it's the combinations more than anything else.”

Axar Patel reinstated as vice-captain

With Gill, the Test and ODI captain, dropped from the main squad, the position of the vice-captain opened up, which once again belongs to Axar Patel. In his explanation, Agarkar clarified that the all-rounder was acting as Suryakumar Yadav's deputy when Gill was not around, and hence it made sense to go back to him.

“Obviously, Shubman was the vice-captain. He is not in the team, so there will have to be somebody else as vice-captain. And Akshar, before that, when Shubman was not playing T20S and was playing Test cricket, when a lot of the T20S used to clash, Akshar was the vice-captain. So, that's about the vice-captain,” said Agarkar.

Ishan Kishan's exile ends

The wicketkeeper-batter from Jharkhand recently led his side to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win. Not just this, he also scored more than 500 runs. Finally, the selectors have woken up to his performance, recalling him for the World Cup. It is worth mentioning that Kishan was dropped from the India squad on disciplinary grounds by Agarkar and the former head coach Rahul Dravid.

Speaking about Kishan and his constant exclusion from the squad, Agarkar reasoned, “He bats at the top in white ball cricket. He's been in good form. He's played before for India. He has a double 100 in one day cricket. I mean, he wasn't in the Indian team because there's a Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel ahead of him. They're two pretty good players. So, it's nothing to do with anything else. And we feel that he's the best candidate at this point.”

Rinku Singh recalled

Rinku Singh, who was recently dropped from India's squad for the series against South Africa, is back for the World Cup and is likely to play the finisher role. Earlier, when Gill came into the playing XI, besides Samson, Rinku also bore the brunt of being dropped from the line-up despite performing consistently whenever given a chance.

Why no Jitesh Sharma

Even wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma has been dropped from the squad, making way for Ishan Kishan. However, the chief selector did not give any exact reason for leaving Jitesh out. The wicketkeeper, who plays for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL, did not get many chances in the Playing XI, and only started appearing in the lineup from the series against Australia.