In his 30-month tenure as the chairman of the selection committee so far, Ajit Agarkar has taken some big and bold calls. He has overseen the transition of the Test team, moving on from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to appointing Shubman Gill as the ODI captain. One can’t say that he hasn’t made any gutsy calls. On Saturday, he made another. He dropped T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill from India’s T20 World Cup squad with just five matches to go for the tournament. He even dropped Jitesh Sharma, backing in-form Ishan Kishan, ending his two-year exile.
While India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026 looks excellent, one cannot help but question some of the decisions.
- Did Agarkar bow down to the team’s demand?
- Why did Agarkar make the mistake of forcing Gill to the T20I side?
- Why announce Gill as the vice-captain only to drop him?
- Why toy with Sanju Samson?
- What wrong did Jitesh Sharma do?
- Why did Rinku Singh not make the IND vs SA series?
- The Ishan Kishan question
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 |
Did Agarkar bow down to the team’s demand?
At the post-match presentation of IND vs SA 5th T20I in Ahmedabad, Suryakumar Yadav said something that gave away the hint that Shubman Gill does not fit in the current T20I side. With Gill nursing a foot injury, Sanju Samson came back in and gave India a flying start with Abhishek Sharma. Samson scored 22-ball 37 at a strike rate of 168.18.
“From the start of the series, we wanted to stick to a particular brand of cricket and we did exactly that. We didn’t try to do anything different. We wanted to express ourselves in all departments and the results are right there in front of everyone. This is something we felt was missing in our last few series. This is exactly how we wanted to bat. Once someone gets going, they don’t stop. We wanted that relentless intent, and today it worked beautifully,” Suryakumar Yadav said.
With Gill struggling to give India those flying starts, the onus remained on Tilak Varma, especially with Suryakumar himself out of form. Since Gill’s sudden return to the T20I side for Asia Cup 2025, Samson had to negotiate for a spot in the middle-order. And he could not succeed. In his place, Jitesh Sharma was brought in. However, by dropping Shubman Gill, Ajit Agarkar chose to course-correct 49 days before the T20 World Cup.
On social media, there were relentless debates on how Gill did not fit the team. Former India batter Robin Uthappa argued that Gill should play the role of Virat Kohli. Yet, in the end, none of those mattered. Agarkar, who once forced Gill to that settled T20I side, backed out and bowed down to captain Suryakumar Yadav’s pressure. Samson returned to his spot. One must note that Gautam Gambhir never spoke in favour of or against either in the media, as expected from a coach.
Why force Gill to the T20I side?
Before the Asia Cup 2025, Agarkar was bullish when he announced Gill as the vice-captain. He sounded as if Gill sacrificed the spot for Samson and for the Asia Cup, and he deservedly came back. To make him immune, Gill was also named the vice-captain. There were reasons, though. Gill surpassed all the expectations in England, smashing over 700 runs in five Tests as India almost won the series. He was the man in a dream form.
Three months later, that confidence has evaporated. Gill ended 2025 without a half-century, averaging 24.25 with a strike rate of 137.26. In his last innings in Dharamshala, Gill scored 28-ball 28. What was supposed to be Gill’s all-format era ended up in disappointment for many, including his fans.
However, more than Gill, it was the failure of the decision makers. India’s fascination with forcing a player to play all formats had another victim. As Gill kept switching forms and taking up more responsibilities, he buckled. First, he lost his fitness and then his form. Gill did not fit into the T20I side. He could not follow the template set by Abhishek Sharma. But he was forced into that team not just as a player but also as the vice-captain.
“We’re looking at continuity; we want a keeper batting at the top. We know what a quality player Shubman is, even though he’s not found runs recently. It’s the combination more than anything else. Some people are going to miss out on a particular format because they are playing in another. Let’s not make much of it. Over the last few years, Gill has been the No.1 batter in the world. He knows what he has to do, he knows what’s needed, and hopefully by the time the WC comes by, he’ll be back to being No.1,” Agarkar said on Saturday.
Why toy with Sanju Samson?
With Gautam Gambhir becoming the head coach, Samson received a new lease of life. In the T20 World Cup 2024, Samson played no games. But Gambhir backed him. He got his favourite opening slot and despite inconsistencies, he also showed glimpses of what he could do.
Samson finished 2024 with three centuries, including two in South Africa. While he did not start 2025 well, that one big knock was just around the corner as he continued to play the high-risk, high-reward knocks. Then, came Shubman Gill and suddenly, the team management had no plans.
In some matches, Samson played as the opener, as No 3, as No 5 and he was also frozen on the bench at No 8. Then, he was dropped for Jitesh Sharma as the combinations demanded it. It was evident that Samson did not fit in as a middle-order batter, even though he tried his best. There were no concrete plans. Suddenly, Samson has now returned as the opener for the T20 WC. If that was the plan all along, why make him jostle at different spots, taking away his confidence?
Jitesh Sharma: Unwanted man
By going the route of Shubman Gill, Team India had to adjust. They needed a No 7 keeper-batter in case Sanju Samson failed in the middle-order role. Eventually, it came to that situation. Samson ended 2025 with just one half-century, against Oman in a sluggish knock, at No 3. At No 5, he played three innings, scoring 13, 39 and 24. In some games, he did not even get to bat. Against Bangladesh, the team management showed no confidence in him to bat in the middle order as he was frozen on the bench.
During that time, Jitesh Sharma emerged as a realistic option to adjust with Gill as the opener. Jitesh could play the finisher’s role, score some quick runs. He did start well, scoring 22 off 13 against Australia and then 27 off 17 against South Africa in Mullanpur. But on Saturday, he was dropped from the team for the T20 World Cup. With Gill exiting the team and Samson returning to the opening spot, Jitesh was suddenly an unwanted man.
Jitesh did not fail, nor did he make any mistakes. He became another victim of the BCCI selection committee’s poor planning, just like Rinku Singh.
Rinku Singh: In and out and in
Rinku was not even in the squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 despite playing well. He had a limited impact after returning to the team post-T20 WC 2024. But more often than not, he was deemed a surpass. He played just two deliveries in the Asia Cup as Hardik Pandya missed out due to an injury. Rinku was not part of the South Africa series either. Now, he is in the T20 WC squad. If Rinku was always in the plans, why not include him in the IND vs SA series?
Let alone Rinku, it never seemed that the selection committee or the team management had any clarity over the UP batter. Gambhir’s obsession with all-rounders made Rinku a makeshift injury replacement option.
The Ishan Kishan question
After two years, Ishan Kishan is back in Team India. He will be the backup of Sanju Samson in case of an injury or if he is out of form. But to play the backup role as per the Gambhir template, he will have just five matches. And there is no guarantee that he will play all the games.
For his part, the preparations have been good. He just led Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title, finishing with a century in the final. Ishan scored 517 runs in 10 innings at a thundering strike rate of 197.32. He also had two centuries and as many fifties. He will be the like-for-like top-order replacement for Samson.
But why recall someone just five matches before the T20 World Cup? With so many top-order options, wouldn’t Jitesh Sharma be the right choice? Ishan is the only player in the team without playing any matches for India in this T20 World Cup cycle. That’s another strange call.
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