'Someone Else Had To': Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar Reveals Why Axar Patel Was Named Vice Captain After Shubman Gill Snub

On December 20, 2025, BCCI made a shocking announcement by removing Shubman Gill as the vice captain and dropping him from the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 and the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. In place of Gill, Axar Patel was named as the vice captain for the upcoming tournament.

BCCI took the tough call to omit Gill from the squad after the player's underwhelming performance in India's T20I series against South Africa. Following the announcement, chief selector Ajit Agarkar also revealed why Axar Patel was chosen as vice captain ahead of seniors like Hardik Pandya.

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Chief Selector On Patel's Vice-Captaincy

Agarkar shared that with Shubman Gill out of the squad, someone else had to step up. As Axar Patel had already filled in the role of vice captain once in Gill's absence, he seemed like the correct fit for the position.

He shared, "Shubman was the vice-captain, but he's not in the team, so someone else had to be vice-captain. Before, when Shubman was not playing T20Is and was playing Test cricket, Axar was the vice-captain."

For the unversed, Axar Patel was the vice-captain when India played against England in a five-match T20I series earlier this year.

Notably, Shubman Gill has scored 291 runs in his last 15 appearances at an average of 24.25 in the T20 format. While Shubman Gill was removed as the vice captain, Suryakumar Yadav was retained as captain despite similar concerns regarding his recent form.

ALSO READ- Suryakumar Yadav Stands By Shubman Gill Despite Recent T20I Struggles And World Cup Snub: 'It's Just About Combination'

India's T20 World Cup 2026 Squad

The squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup includes: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Axar Patel (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, and Ishan Kishan.