Ajit Agarkar Explains Rationale Behind Shubman Gill's Omission From India's T20 World Cup 2026 Squad: 'Short Of A Little Bit Of Runs'

T20 World Cup 2026: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, revealed the reasons behind Shubman Gill's omission from the 15-member Team India squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, saying that he has not found runs in recent times.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, along with chief selector Ajit Agarkar and T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav, attended the press conference in Mumbai, on Saturday, December 20, where the Team India squad was announced for the T20 World Cup 2026.

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Why Shubman Gill Snubbed From India Squad For T20 World Cup? Ajit Agarkar Opens Up 

While speaking at the press conference, Ajit Agarkar stated that Shubman Gill is a quality player, but he is currently short of runs, which is why he missed out on the T20 World Cup squad.

Agarkar added that they went with a different combination, and someone has to miss out when a 15-member squad has to be selected.

"...Shubman, we know what a quality player he is, perhaps short of a little bit of runs at the moment, unfortunate to have missed out in the last World Cup as well because we went with a different combination, but it's the combinations more than anything else...Someone has to miss out when you pick 15, and unfortunately, it's Gill at this point," Ajit Agarkar said at the press conference, as quoted by ANI.

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In recent times, Shubman Gill has had a poor run in T20Is, failing to score runs for the Men in Blue in the shortest format. In the recently concluded five-match T20I series against South Africa, Gill has played three matches, scoring only 32 runs at a strike rate of 103.22 and an average of 10.66.

Shubman Gill's Numbers In T20Is

Shubman Gill began his T20I career in 2023 against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. In the T20Is, Shubman Gill played 36 matches, scoring 869 runs at a strike rate of 138.59 and an average of 28.03. The 26-year-old scored one century and three fifties in the 20-over format for the Men in Blue.

In the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, Team India have been placed in Group A, alongside Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan, and the USA. The prestigious ICC event will kick off from February 7, and the Men in Blue will begin their voyage in the tournament against the USA, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

India Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (WK).