Gujarat Titans (GT) assistant and batting coach Parthiv Patel finds Shubman Gill’s non-selection for the 2026 T20 World Cup justifiable. Considering Gill is GT’s captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL), one could expect Parthiv to show bias towards him. But the former Indian wicketkeeper has backed the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) decision.
Following his return to the T20I setup in September 2025, after over a year, Gill could match his predecessor’s performances. Named deputy to Suryakumar Yadav, he was given a long run. Gill featured in the Asia Cup and played against Australia and South Africa.
Shubman Gill T20I stats in 2025
| Innings | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 291 | 47 | 24.25 | 137.26 | 0 | 0 |
But Gill’s willow remained silent. After giving him 15 matches, the selectors moved on. Sanju Samson was brought back as an opener for the New Zealand series and the T20 World Cup. Parthiv doesn’t find any issues with Gill’s exclusion, considering his performance wasn’t up to the mark.
“India was hoping to find a solid player who could captain in all three formats. He was given a fair chance. Maybe he did not contribute as per the expectations. There are still five games left in the New Zealand series, but the decision was taken in the South Africa series itself. The talent pool runs so deep that there will always be talk about who is not in the squad. Instead, I feel we should empower those who are there and put some positive energy behind them. It is a very strong squad, and India will definitely start as favourites,” he said on Jay Thadeshwar’s podcast.
Recently, Gill had talked about missing on playing a home ICC event. “My belief is that in my life, I am where I am supposed to be and whatever things are written in my destiny, no one can take those things from me,“ he had said.
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
