Overview:
The batter scored 37 runs off 22 balls, which almost confirmed Gill's removal from the team.
India announced the squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand and the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Shubman Gill was snubbed while the selectors recalled Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh. Gill, who was the vice-captain since the Asia Cup, was replaced by all-rounder Axar Patel in the role. India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar opened up on giving vice-captaincy to Axar.
“Shubman Gill was the vice-captain, but when he is not in the team, someone else has to be the vice-captain. When Shubman was not playing T20 cricket due to Test and ODI commitments, Axar was the vice-captain,” Ajit Agarkar said.
Gill failed to score a fifty after he returned to the T20I side for the Asia Cup. His numbers were ordinary in Australia and against South Africa. He was preferred over in-form Sanju Samson, who was demoted in the batting order. Shubman was injured after the third T20I against the Proteas, forcing head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav to open with Samson in the last contest.
The batter scored 37 runs off 22 balls, which almost confirmed Gill’s removal from the team.
“It is more about combinations. We wanted to have two wicket-keepers in case something goes wrong. There are two keepers at the top. Shubman is a quality player, but he is short of runs at the moment. Unfortunately, he missed out on the last T20 World Cup as well. It is about combinations more than anything else. Someone has to miss out when you pick 15, and it is Gill at the moment,” he added.
India squad for New Zealand series and ICC T20 World Cup 2026
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Rinku Singh