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Shubman Gill's T20 World Cup fate dubbed ‘lesson for the selectors’: ‘He did nothing to prove that he’s sensational'
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar weighs in on Shubman Gill's exclusion from the squad for the T20 World Cup.
The dust has not settled on the development of Shubman Gill being excluded from India's T20 World Cup squad, but the reactions continue to pour in. The 26-year-old touted to be the next all-format captain was shown the door owing to a lack of runs in T20Is in 2025. The right-handed batter, who made a comeback into the side in the Asia Cup, failed to set the stage on fire, scoring 291 runs in 15 innings, and finally, the selectors felt the need to look past him for the upcoming World Cup, which will be played in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has now reacted to the development, saying bringing Gill into the lineup wasn't the right move in the first place. He stated that the batter was parachuted on the back of an outstanding Test series against England, where he scored 754 runs in five matches.
Also Read: Shubman Gill kept in the dark until the last moment, informed of snub only minutes before selection meeting concluded
With Gill being included in the T20I playing XI, Sanju Samson and Rinku Singh were sidelined from the lineup, and there was considerable criticism on social media regarding this particular move. Now with Gill out of the equation, Samson is likely to open the batting, and Rinku finds himself back in the squad and is likely to play the role of the finisher.
No one expected the Agarkar-led committee to take such a call, but the squad for the World Cup once again proved that the current team management is not hesitant in making ruthless decisions.
"I look at Shubman Gill's non-selection in the Indian T20 World Cup squad as a mistake that the selectors have rectified. Let me explain. India had that tremendous tour of England, and Shubman Gill was the star in the way he batted. So there was a lot of excitement then. Indian cricket was in a happy place. Shubman Gill was the name, wasn't he? And immediately he was made the captain of the one-day team," said Manjrekar in a video shared by him on Instagram.
“And in that excitement, he also got into the T20 Indian T20 team. Now, that was a mistake. And at the time, I said that as well, because, I mean, there was nothing that he had done in that time to prove that, you know, he's a sensational T20 player,” he added.
‘Lesson for the selectors’
The former Indian batter also offered a piece of advice to the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee, suggesting that the formats shouldn't be mixed and that players should be picked based on their utility in the particular format.
“Just based on his test success in England, he was picked for the Indian T20 squad. So that was a mistake. And that's what the selectors have done now. They've rectified that mistake by not having Shubman Gill in this T20 team for the World Cup for India. And I just hope now that a lesson has been learned, that this sport has three formats,” said Manjrekar.
“And if somebody plays well in Test matches, he's played well in Test Matches. When somebody does well in one-dayers, he's an exceptional one-day player. And T20 performances will tell you how good a player is in T20 cricket. So one must not confuse all these formats when we are making selections. So I hope this is in some way a lesson for the selectors,” he concluded.
It has already been learnt that Gill was unaware of his fate till the last minute, and he was only informed about the final decision shortly before the conclusion of the selection meeting on Saturday.
