India drop Shubman Gill from T20 World Cup squad; Axar named vice-captain, Kishan returns

Mumbai, Dec 2025 : In a surprising shake-up ahead of next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, defending champions India have omitted Shubman Gill from both the World Cup squad and the T20I series against New Zealand. The squad was announced by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia alongside captain Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, with all-rounder Axar Patel appointed vice-captain.

Gill’s exclusion is one of the most notable talking points, especially as he has been a consistent performer across formats. Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma has also been left out, paving the way for Ishan Kishan’s return following his electric run of form that inspired Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title. Meanwhile, Rinku Singh makes his comeback after missing the South Africa series, where India clinched a 3-1 victory.

Explaining Gill’s omission, Agarkar stated the decision was largely based on team composition rather than form.

“We are looking at combinations. Our thought was to have another keeper. Gill is a quality player, unfortunate to miss out, but it is the combination we want. Ishan bats at the top, he has been in good form, and played before for India,” Agarkar said.

He added that Kishan’s selection was influenced by the balance required in the squad, especially with Sanju Samson also available as a wicketkeeper-batter.

“He wasn’t there because Jurel and Pant were ahead. Sanju is at the top. Ishan at the top. That is the combination we are looking at right now. We felt he is the best back up keeper at this point,” he added.

The 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup will run from February 7 to March 8, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. This will be the second time the two nations host the tournament—Sri Lanka previously hosted in 2012, while India last hosted in 2016.

The competition will feature 40 group matches till February 20, after which the top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Eights starting February 21.

India have been placed in Group A along with Pakistan, USA, Netherlands and Namibia. The Men in Blue enter the tournament with a historic triple objective: to become the first team to win the T20 World Cup back-to-back, the first to win at home, and the first to lift the trophy three times.

India’s campaign begins against the USA at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on February 7, followed by a clash with Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on February 12. The highly anticipated India-Pakistan showdown is set for February 15 at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium, ahead of their final league match against the Netherlands on February 18 at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.

Before the World Cup, India will host New Zealand in a five-match T20I series starting January 21 in Nagpur, followed by games in Raipur, Guwahati, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram.

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan.