In a stunning twist ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup, Shubman Gill has been left out of India’s 15-member squad for the February-March tournament in India and Sri Lanka.
The decision comes after the 26-year-old struggled to make an impact as an opener in the recently concluded series against South Africa, managing scores of just 4, 0, and 28 before sitting out the final match due to a minor foot injury.
Gill, who was also named vice-captain of the T20 side in the hope of grooming him for leadership across formats, has now been replaced in the squad by the in-form Ishan Kishan.
Kishan, who recently scored a century to guide Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title, will serve as both a backup opener and wicket-keeper alongside Sanju Samson.
The selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, also made some other notable changes. Wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma has been dropped, specialist finisher Rinku Singh has been recalled, and Axar Patel takes over the vice-captaincy from Gill, with Suryakumar Yadav continuing as captain.
The squad will have a chance to fine-tune their combinations in the upcoming T20 series against New Zealand from January 21-28.
India’s current team has been on a roll, completing their 10th consecutive bilateral T20 series win by defeating South Africa 3-1. Yet, with the World Cup looming, selectors opted for form and fitness over past reputation.
Social Media Explodes After Gill Dropped From T20 WC 2026
The announcement of Shubman Gill’s exclusion sparked a flurry of reactions online. A fan tweeted, “No Shubman Gill in the #T20WorldCup squad. A complete u-turn! For once, well done, GG!”
Another remarked on the sudden squad changes, saying, “Whoaaa… that’s a lot of changes so close to the World Cup. Jitesh wouldn’t even know what he did wrong. Rinku is back to where he belongs—why was he left out in the cold? Happy for Ishan—both keepers are like for like in the batting slot. Axar back as VC. The experiment with Gill didn’t work.”
Some fans placed the responsibility on Gill himself, with one user saying, “If someone is to be blamed for Gill getting dropped, it’s him. He got so much backup from the management but consistently failed to grab those opportunities. He needs to go back to basics, and I’m sure he’ll come back with a bang!”
Others celebrated the move outright, with one declaring, “Good team. Very good team. Gill has been dropped—that’s the best news. He doesn’t deserve even ODI captaincy.”
Meanwhile, supporters of the squad focused on the positives, “Sadly and rightly, Gill is dropped, but winning the WC is important… So happy that Ishan Kishan is back!”
India’s 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 has been finalized, featuring Suryakumar Yadav as captain and Axar Patel as vice-captain, with a strong mix of experienced campaigners and in-form players including Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan, and Rinku Singh.
With Gill missing from the line-up, all eyes will now be on India’s stars to step up and prove they can defend the crown on home soil.
