Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav acknowledged his recent lean patch and expressed confidence in returning to form ahead of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup.
India's T20 World Cup squad had space for only 15, but the pool of quality options ran far deeper. The consequence was inevitable: several players with genuine claims were left on the outside, the unlucky ones who narrowly missed the cut.
With India set to name their T20 World Cup 2026 squad on Saturday in Mumbai, the spotlight has firmly shifted to Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav, whose recent struggles have turned the selection meeting into a high-stakes call.
Shubman Gill is set to make a comeback during the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, starting in Cuttack, on December 9.
These comments come after India recently announced their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026. Suryakumar Yadav is set to lead India in his first-ever ICC tournament as captain, with Axar Patel named as his deputy.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar identified Shubman Gill's recent lack of runs and combination compulsions as reasons for his omission from India's squad for the T20 World Cup.
Despite piling up runs in domestic cricket and delivering whenever handed a chance for India, Sarfaraz Khan remains on the sidelines -- a situation that former chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar has described as both baffling and unfair.
The indefatigable duo of Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj is expected to be the big talking point on Saturday when the selectors pick a 15-member Indian ODI squad for a three-match series against New Zealand starting January 11 in Vadodara.
Save Shreyas Iyer, who will take a lot more time to get fit, others are expected to represent their state teams.
'Rishabh Pant is not fit for West Indies series, hopefully he will be available for home Tests against South Africa.'
Asked about it at a media interaction in Dubai, Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar clarified: 'He is injured.'
Calling it the formal start of Gill's era, Chopra also wondered what the change means for Rohit Sharma, whose place in India's long-term plans could now depend solely on form and fitness.
All-rounder Axar Patel was named vice-captain of the squad, which also saw the return of in-form Ishan Kishan, who pipped Jitesh Sharma as the second wicketkeeper behind Sanju Samson.
Shubman Gill is stepping into leadership with clarity and calm, backed by two strong voices in Indian cricket - Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar.
'I want to ask Agarkar how Iyer is not among the reserve players if he is such a strong contender.'
Yashasvi Jaiswal is making sure his place on the Asia Cup reserves list won't slow him down.
The BCCI has postponed Wednesday's press conference to Thursday afternoon, where Ajit Agarkar will unveil India's squad for the two-Test series against the West Indies, with Shubman Gill returning as captain.
There are three aspects of the decision taken jointly by Agarkar and Gambhir with the blessings of someone very powerful in Indian cricket ecosystem. First, they are on same page that both Rohit and Virat Kohli aren't exactly in their scheme of things for the 2027 World Cup.
Ishan Kishan's return to the Indian T20 setup is a story of timing, perseverance and a domestic season that selectors simply could not overlook.
Spin great Harbhajan Singh said the selectors were right in appointing Shubman Gill as India's ODI captain last year, stating that the youngster is ready for "big challenges".
Shreyas Iyer takes break from red-ball cricket, informs BCCI of a back issue
Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar's appointment as chairman of senior selection committee seems to be a mere formality.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has dropped the ultimate cricket compliment, comparing 14-year-old Bihar batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
India's next international assignment is Asia Cup T20 tournament and it would be a surprise if Bumrah opts to play the tournament considering that the next Test series against West Indies will start in less than a week's time after the event in the UAE.
Mohammed Shami has etched his name in the record books, becoming the fastest Indian and the second-fastest bowler in the world to claim 200 wickets in ODIs
Ganguly backs fit-again Shami, says he should play for India across formats
Ashwin has clarified that his decision to retire from the game was a personal call
As India start their T20 World Cup title defence in less than 72 hours, one is tempted to look at Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir's working relationship which has been fantastic, at least so going by the results -- a whopping 31 wins in 39 games with a winning percentage of 79.48.
With no foreign tours for the next one year, Easwaran's Test debut looks unlikely with N Jagadeesan being looked at as a potential third opener.
India's T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill will be reporting at Bengaluru's Centre of Excellence on Monday for his mandatory fitness assessment protocols, which will determine his return to action for the upcoming five-match series against South Africa starting December 9.
Shami has been out of action since his heroics in the ODI World Cup 2023.
Ajit Agarkar defended the selection of the under-fire Hardik Pandya
'Don't make him wait. If I were chairman, I would definitely have him in the 16.'
The national selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar, in all likelihood, will select identical squads for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand and the marquee ICC T20 World Cup, a BCCI source said on Friday.
Ajit Agarkar and skipper Rohit Sharma are expected to have an informal meeting in New Delhi to discuss India's 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup.
Talented wicketkeeper-batter Abishek Porel has been named vice-captain, while the pace department will receive a major boost with the inclusion of India fast bowling duo of Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has laid bare its blueprint for Jasprit Bumrah's workload management, making it clear that India's pace spearhead will be preserved for the biggest stages
Sanju Samson boasts of a superb record in T20 Internationals, with 995 runs in 51 matches at a strike rate of 147.40, including three centuries and as many fifties.
Gill, who donned the opener's role during India's unbeaten run to the Asia Cup trophy, mustered up 127 runs in seven appearances.
Rishabh Pant is yet to recover from the injury suffered during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July.
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