Earlier today, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) dropped a bombshell. Shubman Gill’s name wasn’t mentioned by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia while announcing India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2026.
Everyone was shocked. He was brought into the T20I team after over a year, and that too, as deputy to Suryakumar Yadav. Although Gill’s willow has been silent since his return in the Asia Cup 2025, one would assume that your vice-captain won’t be dropped.
But BCCI took the bold step. Sanju Samson, who was removed for Gill, has been preferred by the selectors since they want a wicketkeeper at the top and have also dropped Jitesh Sharma. Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh have been recalled.
Was Shubman Gill informed about T20 World Cup snub?
But was Gill informed about the decision? Apart from the fact that the 26-year-old is India’s T20I vice-captain, he’s also the skipper in ODI and Test cricket. Surely, Gill warrants an explanation as to why he’s getting dropped.
It turns out that BCCI hadn’t been planning to exclude Gill. Perhaps the board was hoping he’d come good eventually. But when, even after 15 innings, he just couldn’t stamp his authority, they had to take the call.
Despite sharing the dressing room with captain Suryakumar, who was present for the press conference at the Wankhede Stadium, Gill was informed about his exclusion just moments before the squad was revealed. So, it’s not like he was kept entirely in the dark. But this shows maybe even BCCI hadn’t taken the call until the last minute.
“Shubman Gill was spoken to before the meeting. Obviously, we can’t give the details, but he explained the combination call. Unfortunate for him, but at the end of the day, you need the best combination for the World Cup,” a BCCI official told the Times of India.
India squad for T20 World Cup 2026
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel (vc), Rinku Singh
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