Shubman Gill Not Informed About T20 World Cup Exclusion: Reports

The fate of Shubman Gill was not sealed on Saturday when the BCCI secretary, Devajit Saikia, revealed the team for the T20 World Cup, but when the fourth T20 International was abandoned on Wednesday because of smog. It was on that day when Gill stopped being selected for T20 International, and till Saturday morning, the two-format India captain was neither alerted by the selector’s chairman nor by national captain Suryakumar Yadav or even head coach Gambhir, according to a BCCI source.

Shubman Gill Left Out of T20 World Cup Squad Without Prior Notice, Raising Concerns Over Team Management

Even though the skipper, whose performance for the past year had been very low, has been granted another chance, it should not be surprising that Gill could begin feeling disheartened and slightly offended by the high-handed treatment he received.

The minute the word came out that Gill had wrenched his toe while batting, one knew that something was not quite right and that the management of the team, headed by Gambhir and Suryakumar, had certainly moved on as far as Gill’s position was concerned.

If the sources in BCCI are believed, it was already planned to chuck the vice-captain out when, in fact, he wanted to be part of the team for the match in Ahmedabad, as his injury was not very severe. This was the first indication of planning to provide an exit strategy to the struggling Indian vice-captain who had scored a total of 32 runs in the three matches played against South Africa.

Shubman Gill and World Cup drop:

* Call taken in last few days. He could have played Ahmedabad T20I but management said "don't risk"

* No communication from think tank. India T20I VC was "informed" minutes before selection meet, says BCCI official. No word in Ahmedabad from…

— Sahil Malhotra (@Sahil_Malhotra1) December 20, 2025

First, the medical staff was apprehensive about a hairline fracture, though subsequent scans showed that it was only a bruise, and he could have played the Ahmadabad match with painkillers. If one has observed or listened to the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, he didn’t appear too impressed with this move, as he has been one of those who has assessed this Punjab player as the future leader of all formats of Indian cricket.

“We all know that he’s a good player, but maybe apart from a bit of runs these days,” Agarkar said in the press conference on the selection of the India squad. "(He was) unfortunate to miss out on the last World Cup as well because, you know, we went to a different combination. But it's the combinations more than anything else. Two keepers at the top, that's the way we want to try. Someone has to miss out when you pick (squad of)15 and, unfortunately, it's Gill at this point," he added.