The BCCI announced India’s T20 World Cup squad, and the biggest surprise was Shubman Gill being left out of the 15-man team. This shocked fans and experts because Gill has been publicly projected as India’s future all-format leader.
Over the past few months, the BCCI had strongly hinted that Gill was being prepared for a leadership role in T20s as well, especially after making him captain in ODIs and Tests. So his exclusion felt contradictory to those signals.
Instead, Sanju Samson was brought back as the opener, while Ishan Kishan who recently scored a century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final was selected as the backup wicketkeeper. These choices suggested the selectors prioritised recent domestic form and specific roles over long-term leadership planning. The decision became the main talking point of the press conference, overshadowing discussion about the rest of the squad and even captain Suryakumar Yadav, who like Gill hasn’t been in great T20 form lately.