Shubman Gill dropped from India’s T20 World Cup squad, Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh in

The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee chose to be bold. They refused to put champagne on ice, opting for champagne cricket at the top instead. The result? Shubman Gill, who until Friday was India’s vice-captain in the T20Is, has been dropped for the upcoming T20I World Cup. The defending champions would be going to the ICC’s biennial showpiece with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson as their first-choice opening pair and Ishan Kishan as the reserve.

For the next few days, Gill would continue to be the story of the selection meeting that took place here in Mumbai on Saturday. But let’s digress a bit and talk about Kishan. Not many moons ago, the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman was the persona non grata in Indian cricket. He was dropped from the list of centrally contracted cricketers because he didn’t play domestic cricket. Now, he is in the World Cup squad by dint of his performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The selectors witnessed first-hand his scintillating 101 off 49 balls against Haryana in the final. He returned from the tournament with 517 runs and a strike-rate touching 200. The selection committee does reward performances in domestic cricket. Also, the BCCI and the selectors don’t bear a grudge against any cricketer. Kishan returns to the Indian team after two years. 

“Two ‘keepers at the top, that’s the way we want to try and (also) the team management. Eventually, we will decide, when we play, what kind of combinations we push on. It gives us a little bit more depth,” Agarkar said at the press conference.

Back to Gill, and the chief selector was asked if he was dropped on form. “Sometimes when you pick on players, it’s a bit different to what someone else’s opinion is to what ours. We still think he (Gill) is a quality player. You go through ups and downs (even) in good form,” Agarkar said, adding: “But it’s more to do with the combination that we want to play, or what the team management is comfortable with playing.”

“It’s not about his (Gill) form or anything,” Suryakumar Yadav dittoed. “It’s about the combination right now. We wanted to have a ‘keeper at the top. We wanted to have a Rinku Singh or maybe a Washington Sundar later on, to have a different combination. So that’s why we brought in that extra wicketkeeper at the top.”

Make no mistake, if Gill were scoring runs in the shortest format, he wouldn’t have been left out of the World Cup squad. But the decision to drop him has corrected a couple of wrongs. Gill’s return to the T20I fold as Surya’s deputy before the Asia Cup earlier this year had upset a settled and successful opening combination. Sanju had to give up his opening position before losing his place in the playing XI. Also, the lower-middle-order had to be tweaked, Jitesh Sharma coming at the expense of Rinku. A better combination has been chosen for the World Cup, with Rinku and Washington part of the squad. Better late than never.

Axar Patel has been appointed the vice-captain and it’s the right call. But Surya’s form slump remains a big concern. If Gill’s 47 against Pakistan at the Asia Cup was his highest score in 15 T20Is after returning to the shortest-format set-up, the skipper’s average has dipped to 14 in 2025. “The bad patch of mine has become a bit elongated. I know where I’m going wrong. I will come back,” said Surya.

The selectors didn’t pick any stand-bys. Devajit Saikia, the BCCI secretary said, as because the World Cup will be played in India, it wasn’t needed. “If required, all the (back-up) players would be ready,” he pointed out.

India’s squad for T20I series against NZ announced & ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (WK).

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