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Why Shubman Gill was dropped from India’s T20 World Cup squad; BCCI chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar explains
The BCCI dropped a bombshell when it announced that Shubman Gill was sacked as India's T20I vice-captain and didn't find a place in the T20 World Cup squad.
In what comes as an absolute shocker, Shubman Gill was sacked as vice-captain of India’s T20 side and found no place in the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup starting February 7. Gill made his return to India’s T20I squad, elevated to the vice-captain role, but following a poor string of scores, the BCCI selection committee dropped him from India's T20I set-up.
As a result, Gill will miss his second straight T20 World Cup. Gill's inclusion in India's T20I squad sparked considerable debate, primarily regarding its impact on India's opening combination. As fine a batter as he has proven himself to be in Tests and ODIs, Gill, the T20I player, lacks conviction, which is perhaps what the selection committee realised, although they linked the decision to team combinations, stemming from India's requirement of having two wicketkeepers in Sanju Samson and the returning Ishan Kishan.
“Obviously, Shubman was the vice-captain. He is not in the team, so there will have to be somebody else as vice-captain. And Axar, before that, when Shubman was actually not playing the T20Is and playing Test cricket, when a lot of the T20Is used to clash, was the vice-captain. So, that's about the vice-captain. Regarding continuity, I mean you are currently examining combinations. If your keeper is going to bat at the top, our thought was to have another keeper, just in case there is a problem. At the moment, Jitesh was there. Again, hasn't done too much wrong. I mean, 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 because you went with different combinations,” Ajit Agarkar, the BCCI chairman of selectors, said moments after secretary Devajit Saikia made the announcement on Saturday.
Also Read: India squad announcement for T20 World Cup
“Two keepers at the top, that's the way we want to try. And obviously, the team management will eventually decide when they play what kind of combinations. Rinku's come, who gives a little bit more depth, sort of middle to lower middle order. It's more the combinations. Someone has to miss out when you pick 15. And unfortunately, it's Gill at this point.”
It’s also worth noting that Gill has been on the wrong side of injuries lately. He picked up a neck sprain during the South Africa Test series, which required hospitalisation, ruling him out of the ODI series. He made a recovery for the T20Is, but with scores of 4, 0 and 28, Gill injured himself ahead of the 4th match in Lucknow. He was left out of the series-decider in Ahmedabad last night, which Surya revealed was due to a niggle, but it seems as if the BCCI dropped the ball on him much before.
“I mean, your opinion could differ from mine. Sometimes, when you pick on players, it's a bit difficult to gauge someone else's opinion compared to ours. We still think he's a quality player. You go through ups and downs with form, obviously. However, it's more about the combination we want to play. Or what the team management is comfortable playing. Whether it's GG and Surya, what their thoughts are, who's going to bat at the top. Abhishek, obviously, has done what he has done over the last year, maybe a little bit more. And we felt that having a keeper at the top at this point gives us a lot more solidity everywhere else in the team, allowing us to play different combinations. As I said, there are 15 that need to be picked. Someone has to miss out. It's him. It's not because he's not a good player. These are the combinations that the team management is looking for. And fortunately, in Indian cricket, we've got some options,”
“When somebody is playing Tests somewhere else and not playing T20, that doesn't mean it's a different combination. When they went to South Africa, where Sanju got those two 100s, or Tilak got 100s, none of the Test players had gone there because the Test team was in Australia. So, sometimes those are the challenges where some people will miss out on a particular format because they are playing something else. So, let's not make too much out of it. At this point, as I said, obviously Sanju opened last night. We've got another keeper as a backup who opens. So, clearly tells you what the thinking along those lines is. And that's how Gill has missed out.”
India captain Suryakumar Yadav agreed with Agarkar’s point of view on combinations. Gill, who was dropped from the 2024 T20 World Cup, hasn’t enjoyed the best of outings in T20 internationals for India. In fact, from July 2024 to August 2025, Gill did not feature in even a single T20I match for India. But even when he made his way back in the Asia Cup, Gill managed just 127 runs from seven matches, including a best of 47. Gill struggled to get going even in Australia, with 132 runs from five T20Is, and the South Africa series wasn’t any better either. With Gill struggling to fire at the top of the order, India weren’t getting the same explosive starts as they did with Abhishek Sharma and Samson.
“In any team sport you play, like all the bilateral series we've played, 2-3 players come and go. When the players came back, they got the opportunities. We are happy as we are right now. With the squad we have right now, we have 2-3 combinations ready. So happy with what we have right now,” mentioned Surya.
“We've come to a point, me and Gauti bhai and the other batters, lefty-righty is not what we're looking for. It's a little overrated. We've fixed number 3 for Tilak, 4 for myself, and then whoever is comfortable. We want to fix that role for Tilak, so he knows what his role is and is happy in that position.”
