Perhaps even Shubman Gill would not have thought that he would not be able to play the 2026 T20 World Cup. The T20 World Cup will start from February 7, for which when the Indian squad was announced, Gill’s name was nowhere in it. This was even more surprising because Gill is the captain of India’s ODI and Test team. Shubman Gill has reacted for the first time on being left out of the T20 World Cup squad.

India vs New Zealand ODI series is going to start from January 11, in which Shubman Gill will be seen captaining Team India. Before the series, he said that he respects the selectors and also wished the World Cup team all the best. Before being dropped, Shubman Gill was the vice-captain of the T20 team, but now this responsibility has again gone to Akshar Patel.

One who is destined, no one can take away…

Before India vs New Zealand first ODI match, Shubman Gill said in the press conference, “I feel that I am where I should be in my life. Whatever is written in my destiny, I feel that nothing can be taken away from me. As a player, you believe that by playing well, you will make your team and country win.”

Shubman Gill further said, “I respect the decision of the selectors. I accept their decision. I wish the T20 team all the best. I hope they will win the World Cup for us.”

Shubman Gill last played a T20 match against South Africa. In 3 innings of that series, Gill could score only 32 runs and was out once without opening the account. Sanju Samson played in his place in the fifth T20 match. Samson capitalized on the opportunity and played an inning of 37 runs in 22 balls. There is a possibility that Samson may be seen opening the Indian innings along with Abhishek Shatma in the T20 World Cup.

Shubman Gill’s bat has again failed to score runs. Due to continuous poor form, Gill has not been selected in the T20 World Cup squad. India vs New Zealand ODI series is going to start after a few days, in which Gill will be seen as the captain. But before that his bat remained silent in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. On the other hand, Delhi got victory, but its captain Rishabh Pant is also failing.

Shubman Gill’s bad form continues

On January 6, there was a match between Punjab and Goa, in which Shubman Gill played his first match for Punjab in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. Batting first, the Goa team was all out on a score of just 211. Shubman Gill along with Prabhsimran Singh started the Punjab innings. Gill played 12 balls, but he was out after scoring only 11 runs.

Gill had a chance to regain good form before the series against New Zealand, but he has missed this golden opportunity. Let us tell you that Gill will captain the Indian team in the ODI series against New Zealand. On the other hand, due to poor form in T20, Gill has not been selected in India’s T20 World Cup squad.

Rishabh Pant could not walk

Rishabh Pant is captaining the Delhi team in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Pant has scored 2 half-centuries so far in this entire tournament, but there is a lack of consistency in his performance. In the match against Railways, he scored 24 runs in 9 balls. He hit 3 sixes and one four in his short innings, but got out due to playing fast. Pant has so far scored 212 runs in 6 innings of this tournament.

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Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan believes that Shubman Gill can become the next Virat Kohli of Team India. Gill is currently the captain of India’s Test and ODI team, and he is being seen as the next superstar player of Team India. He has taken the number-4 position in the Test format, where Virat Kohli used to play.

Irfan Pathan told how Virat Kohli was linked with Sachin Tendulkar in the early days of his career. Similarly, now Shubman Gill is being linked with Virat Kohli.

Irfan Pathan said, “Gill is very talented. Comparisons will always be made. Virat was compared to Sachin, who has scored 25-30 thousand runs. I think Gill has the ability to do this. He can hit many types of shots. The more responsibility and challenges he gets as a cricketer, the better he will get as a cricketer. I have seen, he is always ready for cricket.”

Before the Indian all-rounder, England’s veteran spinner Monty Panesar had expressed doubt that Shubman Gill would hardly ever be able to replace Virat Kohli in Team India. On the other hand, after becoming the captain, Shubman Gill said that even after becoming the captain, there will be no impact on his bonding with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

This statement of Irfan Pathan came at a time when, despite being the captain of the ODI and Test team, Shubman Gill has been dropped from the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. Despite being the vice-captain of the T20 team, Gill has been left out of the World Cup squad.

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Punjab has announced its 18-member squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh are also included in this squad. With the arrival of three international star players, the Punjab team appears to be in a strong position, this team also has power hitting batsmen like Prabhsimran Singh, Naman Dheer and Ramandeep Singh. The most surprising thing is that Punjab has not announced any captain for the upcoming tournament.

Punjab’s 18-member squad includes Indian ODI and Test team captain Shubman Gill. Gill, who has not been included in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup by BCCI. This year, Gill has scored 490 runs in 11 ODI matches at a good average of 49. On the other hand, Gill’s T20 form in 2025 was disappointing. This year, he scored only 291 runs in 15 T20 matches, during which he did not score a century, let alone a half-century.

If we look at the Punjab team for Vijay Hazare Trophy, there are two in-form players in it in the form of Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh. This will be the first time that Gill will be taking the field for the first time after being expelled from the T20 World Cup squad. Well, Gill currently remains the captain of the ODI and Test team.

Punjab team has been placed in Group C in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. Maharashtra, Mumbai, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Chhattisgarh and Sikkim are also included in this group. Punjab will play its first match with Maharashtra on 24 December.

Punjab squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy: Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Harnoor Pannu, Anmolpreet Singh, Uday Saharan, Naman Dhir, Salil Arora (wk), Sanveer Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Harpreet Brar, Raghu Sharma, Krish Bhagat, Gaurav Chaudhary, Sukhdeep Bajwa.

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Difficulties seem to be increasing for Shubhman Gill. In the same year, he was given the captaincy of the Test team and then the ODI team. Apart from this, he also remained the vice-captain of the T20 team. On December 20, when the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 was announced, Shubman Gill was nowhere to be seen. Now there is news that the captaincy of the ODI team can be taken away from Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer can become the new captain.

Shreyas Iyer will become ODI captain?

It is being claimed in the reports that Shreyas Iyer can be appointed as the new captain of the Indian ODI team. Shreyas is currently the vice-captain of the ODI team. Iyer has a lot of captaincy experience, he has captained his team from domestic cricket to IPL also. There is a strong discussion on social media about making Shreyas the vice-captain of the ODI team.

In October this year, before the ODI series against Australia, Shubman Gill was made the captain of the ODI team. Shreyas Iyer became the vice-captain along with him. If these reports remain true, then Shreyas Iyer will be the 29th cricketer who will have the privilege of captaining the Indian ODI team.

Under the captaincy of Shubman Gill, India has played 3 ODI matches so far, in which it has won only one. Team India lost the ODI series 1-2 on the Australian tour. The speculation about Gill being removed from ODI captaincy just before the T20 World Cup 2026 is indicating that his future in all three formats does not seem secure.

Shubman Gill out of T20

The recent T20 form of Shubman Gill, who has been the vice-captain of the T20 team for the last few months, has been very bad. Whereas in the T20 series against South Africa, he scored only 32 runs in 3 matches. It was reported that he could not play the fourth and fifth T20 matches due to injury, but some reports claimed that the management had already decided to drop Gill, which was the reason why he did not play the fifth T20 match. Now it is certain that Gill will not play the 2026 T20 World Cup.

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On Saturday, December 20, BCCI had announced the Indian squad for T20 World Cup 2026. Shubman Gill’s absence from this squad remains a topic of discussion. On one hand, Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar did not give any clear answer. Captain Suryakumar Yadav said that the reason for Gill’s absence was not his form.

A few hours after the announcement of the Indian squad, Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen at the Delhi airport, where he was asked questions by media reporters about the dropping of Shubman Gill. On this Gambhir left from there without replying.

This video has also become the center of discussion on social media. In which it can be seen that some media reporters asked questions to Gambhir, but he left the garden shaking. Gill’s drop is also shocking because Gill had been the vice-captain of the T20 team for the last few months.

Shubhman Gill was last seen playing in the T20 series against South Africa, where he was able to score only 32 runs in 3 innings. Due to injury, he could not play the fourth and fifth T20 matches. However, according to some reports, Gill wanted to play in Ahmedabad. But the team management had already decided to drop him from the squad.

#WATCH Indian Men’s Cricket Team Head Coach Gautam Gambhir arrives in Delhi

BCCI today announced India’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. pic.twitter.com/RbqVtaixyR

— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2025

What did Ajit Agarkar say on Gill?

Team India’s Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar said on the dropping of Shubman Gill, “Shubman Gill was the vice-captain, but is no longer in the team. Earlier, Akshar Patel was the vice-captain of the T20 team. Talking about continuity, you have to keep many combinations in mind. If your wicketkeeper will bat in the top order, Jitesh Sharma was also an option. Shubman Gill is an excellent player, it is unfortunate that he is out.”

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When BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia announced Team India for the T20 World Cup 2026, Shubman Gill’s name was not included in it. It has been decided that India’s Test and ODI team captain Shubman Gill will not play in the T20 World Cup next year. Meanwhile, a shocking update has come out that no one had given any information to Shubman Gill regarding his exclusion from the T20 squad.

According to a report published in NDTV, a BCCI source said that Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar, Head Coach Gautam Gambhir and Captain Suryakumar Yadav had also not talked to Shubman Gill regarding his being dropped from the team. On the other hand, captain Suryakumar Yadav was also in poor form, but his captaincy post is going to remain intact at least till the World Cup.

According to the report, when Shubman Gill suffered a leg injury during the T20 series against South Africa, reports started coming out that the team management including Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav have started looking for further options from Gill. It is also being told that Gill wanted to play in the fifth T20 match played in Ahmedabad, but the source said that even before that the team management had made a plan to drop him from the team. Meaning Gill was dropped from the team without any information.

There were speculations about Shubman Gill’s injury that perhaps he had suffered a fracture, but upon investigation the medical team found that Gill’s injury was not very serious. In such a situation, he could have played the fifth T20 match against South Africa. It was also seen in the press conference that Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar did not give any clear answer on the dropping of Gill.

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The India vs South Africa T20 series is currently tied at 1-1. The first match was won by Team India and the second match was won by the visiting team. But Shubman Gill’s bat did not work in both the matches. In Cuttack, he was out after scoring 4 runs and in New Chandigarh he could not even open his account. Ashish Nehra has come to his defence, who is not happy with the criticism he is receiving.

Ashish Nehra believes that it is wrong to judge a player like Shubman Gill after one or two matches in T20 format. This shows the increasing tendency to draw hasty conclusions. According to media reports, when he was asked whether he was worried about Gill’s form? Now three months are left for the start of IPL. On this Nehra said, ‘Let alone three months, if IPL was starting even after 3 weeks, I would not be worried because you are talking about a format like T20. Only 2 matches have been played against South Africa.

Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra believes that in India conclusions are reached just by looking at the numbers, which is the basic problem. He said, ‘This is the problem. In this format, if a player like Shubhman Gill is judged if he does not do well in 2 or 3 matches, then it will be difficult. We have many options. If you want to remove Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, you can get Sai Sudarshan and Rituraj Gaikwad to open the innings. If you want to bowl to them too, you can get Washington and Ishan Kishan to open. There are many options. If you lose one or two matches or the statistics of any batsman or bowler are not good and you talk about changing them, then it will be difficult.

Washington Sundar played only 6 matches for Gujarat Titans in the last edition. The head coach of the team indicated that if he remains fit, he may get a chance to play more matches this time. IPL auction will be held in Abu Dhabi on 16 December. Gujarat Titans can buy a maximum of 5 players in the auction, out of these 4 slots of the team are available for foreign players. Gujarat has a purse balance of Rs 12.9 crore in the auction.

Shubman Gill’s place in the T20 team is under question. Gill could not even open his account in the second T20 match against South Africa. Gill has not been able to score a single half-century in T20 matches this year. Gill is surrounded by criticism and the demand to bring Sanju Samson back into the team is increasing. Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath has also talked about bringing Sanju Samson back into the team.

Shubman Gill is the vice-captain of the T20 team and ever since his return to the T20 team, there has been no clarity regarding Sanju Samson’s place in the playing eleven. Samson was earlier asked to bat in the middle order, but now the situation is that he has no place in the playing eleven.

This is unfortunate…

Subramaniam Badrinath says, “Sanju Samson has scored three centuries. We are talking about T20 cricket and he has 3 centuries to his name. What more do you want from a player? It is unfortunate to see that a good player is sitting on the bench.”

Subramaniam Badrinath further said, “He is the vice-captain of the team. I feel that only that player’s place in the playing eleven can be confirmed, who is the captain or vice-captain. He has been made the vice-captain after such statistics. If there are no back-up players, then it is understandable, but there is no dearth of talent in T20.”

On the other hand, veteran Indian cricketer Chris Srikkanth has raised questions on Akshar Patel. Srikanth said that why was Akshar Patel, a middle order batsman, sent to number 3, who could not adapt himself to the circumstances. As a result, India lost the second T20 match by 51 runs.

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India vs South Africa second T20 match was played in Mullanpur, in which Shubman Gill came into limelight due to his fielding. Actually, in this match, Gill had stopped the ball from going outside the boundary line, yet the umpire declared it a six. Why did this happen, and due to which rule did the umpire signal a six? Understand its rules here.

This incident is of the 15th over of the South African innings. Shivam Dubey was bowling, Dewald Brevis was in front. Brevis hit an aerial shot towards long-off, but Shubman Gill jumped and stopped the ball from crossing the boundary. So what happened after all, due to which the umpire signaled six.

Even before Shubman Gill could catch the ball, Gill’s foot hit the boundary cushion. Gill’s foot was above the boundary line, so it did not matter whether Gill pushed the ball into the field or not, because at the time of touching the ball his foot was above the boundary line. Therefore the umpire declared it a six.

The good thing for the Indian team was that Dewald Brevis could not stay in the field for long after that. He was dismissed by Akshar Patel on the score of 14 runs. Let us tell you that in this match, Quinton de Kock alone overpowered the Indian bowling, who played a stormy innings of 90 runs in 46 balls. During this, 5 fours and 7 sixes came from his bat.

If De Kock had completed 100 runs, it would have been his first century against India in T20 International. However, this was De Kock’s highest score against India in T20 matches.

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