The BCCI took a major step and dropped India’s T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026. The decision comes after Gill’s lean patch that has continued since a very long time. In his place, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan have restored their place in the India squad.
Former India cricketer Atul Wassan backed the decision taken by the selectors and termed it as a very decisive step to back players who are specialist in the T20 format. Gill has struggled to adapt to India’s aggressive approach in the T20Is and since the last four months he has gone without scoring a half-century. Wasan highlighted the growing burden on Gill’s shoulder and especially with IPL months – the packed calendar builds even more pressure.
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“I would not say that Shubman Gill has been axed. Because, you know, I hear a lot of talk about it, but yes, it was looking impractical and not pragmatic, according to me, for somebody to be captain of the Test team and then play all three formats. The guy has to change gears, and I think that is unfair these days,” Wasan mentioned while speaking to ANI
“Let him play the IPL. I think because of IPL…I can understand the pressure from the franchise owners because they would love to have an Indian T20 player in their IPL team, and that raises the economic value,” he explained.
“Hence, I say that Shubman Gill, going forward, has to just detach himself and this team has to be pure T20 specialists. And I think that is the way forward. All the teams in the world are doing that. We are a country of 140 crores, right?” he said.
The former cricketer advised Gill to step away from T20Is for now and channel his energies towards Tests and ODIs, where his strengths are better suited.
