‘Shubman Gill is a vice-captain, what is the reason for dropping him…’: Yograj Singh blasts India selectors for T20 World Cup drop

India's Shubman Gill plays a shot during the first T20 International cricket match between India and South Africa in Cuttack, India, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill will be missing the T20 World Cup for the second consecutive time in his career, having been dropped from the squad despite being vice-captain to Suryakumar Yadav. Gill, who scored a total of 291 runs at a strike rate of 137.26 in T20I format last year, remains captain in the other two formats and former India all-rounder Yograj Singh has questioned the move to remove him from the shortest format.

“Shubman Gill is a vice-captain. What is the reason behind dropping him? Just because he failed in 4-5 innings? Indian cricketers have had so many players who have barely managed to perform in 10 matches out of 100 opportunities.They still played; you already know the reason why. Young Abhishek Sharma arrived a couple of years ago. If he fails four innings will you drop him as well?,” Yograj Singh said in an interview with Ravish Bisht.

Gill, who was part of the Indian T20 team for the Asia Cup last year, had amassed a total of 650 runs at a strike rate of 155.88 in last year’s IPL. The 26-year-old had last scored a fifty in T20Is in India colours in 2024, when he had played a knock of 58 runs off 39 balls against hosts Zimbabwe. Singh talked about the instance of former Indian captain Kapil Dev being persisted by the Indian team management after having a mediocre stint with the ball and bat during his maiden tour to Pakistan. “Let me give you an example of the ‘great’ Kapil Dev. When we toured Pakistan with Bishan Singh Bedi as captain, Kapil Dev continued to play matches despite failing with bat and ball. But Bishan Singh Bedi still took him on the subsequent tour of England.” Singh said.

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh had earlier shared how Gill will learn from the non-selection in T20Is and can use this as a motivation to become even better. “Shubman Gill being left out does not make him a lesser player. We know his quality in any format. He is a very well-prepared player. When he plays, he can outshine others. This is not the end for him. A player will feel this setback, but I am sure the management or Ajit Agarkar will talk to him. This is a small setback, but he will learn from it. He is a mature captain and player. He should use this as motivation to become even better. If I could tell him, I would say this is the beginning of something big for him,”Harbhajan had said on Star Sports.