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Shubman Gill was named a reserve player for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Despite a busy schedule post-World Cup. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya excels, boasting an impressive average of 85.25 since the tournament.
Shubman Gill has been dropped from Team India's T20 squad for the 2026 World Cup. Ishan Kishan is back in the team as a backup wicket-keeper while Jitesh Sharma has also been dropped. Gill's exclusion has stunned Indian cricket fans.
As BCCI selectors gathered to select Team India's squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup, many Indian cricket fans demanded that Hardik Pandya should be brought back as the vice-captain. That did not happen, but Axar Patel is back as India's vice captain.
Shubman Gill was named as one of the reserve players in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The other reserves in the squad were Rinku Singh, Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed.
Avesh and Khaleel are nowhere in the picture at the moment. And, Rinku has been in and out of the squad. He has not impressed much whenever he got a chance. Now, let’s see where Gill stands.
Shubman Gill’s T20 performance
Shubman Gill has had a busy T20I schedule since the 2024 T20 World Cup final. He started with the Zimbabwe tour in July 2024. He captained the squad in Zimbabwe as Rohit Sharma retired after the World Cup win and Suryakumar Yadav was rested.
Gill opened with 31 runs and followed it with 2, then a solid 66. His best knock on that tour was an unbeaten 58, and he signed off with 13. He then continued in Sri Lanka, scoring 34 and 39 in Pallekele.
During the Asia Cup phase in September 2025, Gill’s form fluctuated. He hit an unbeaten 20 against the UAE, then managed 10 against Pakistan and 5 against Oman.
He returned strongly with 47 in the next match against Pakistan and 29 against Bangladesh. He ended the UAE leg with 4 versus Sri Lanka and 12 against Pakistan in the final.
Shubman Gill struck an unbeaten 37 in Canberra, scored 5 in Melbourne and 15 in Hobart. He then produced a fine 46 in Carrara. He finished with an unbeaten 29 in Brisbane.
Shubman Gill has gone 18 innings without scoring a 50 since his last half-century in the format on 13 Jul 2024.
After the 2024 World Cup, Gill has played 15 matches and scored 291 runs at an unimpressive average of 24.25. His strike rate (137.26) is decent.
Even so, the Team India management showed confidence in him. Now that he has been dropped, many fans believe that Gautam Gambhir has dropped his “favourite” to give preference to Team India.
Suryakumar Yadav’s T20 performance
Suryakumar Yadav, known for powerful batting, has struggled to score since he became a full-time captain. He has scored 239 runs across 21 innings at a low average of just over 13. Even his strike rate (around 120) fails to impress.
Wonder why nobody is talking about it? Maybe because India, as a team, have been performing brilliantly in T20 cricket. With the victory in the South Africa series at home, India sealed its 8th consecutive bilateral series win in T20 cricket.
The curious case of Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya, who was the vice captain in India’s World Cup-winning team, was expected to become the captain after Rohit Sharma’s retirement. However, he even lost his role as the vice captain.
As per stats, there is no better player in T20 history than Hardik Pandya. He became the first Indian player to achieve the double of 2,000 runs and 100 wickets in T20Is.
Since the 2024 World Cup, he has played 10 innings (14 matches) to score 341 runs while remaining unbeaten in 6 of those.
Hardik Pandya’s average since the 2024 World Cup is a stunning 85.25. He has also taken 22 wickets since the historic tournament.
India T20 World Cup Squad
Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (Vc), Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (WK)
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