India’s Shubman Gill (pti photo/arun sharma) New Delhi: On the morning of the fourth T20I against South Africa on Wednesday, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar rushed to Lucknow. In the evening, it emerged that vice-captain Shubman Gill will miss the remaining T20Is after sustaining a knock-on injury to his right leg on the eve of the fourth match. On paper, it might sound like it was just a coincidence that Sanju Samson was set to open the innings again for India in the fifth T20I on Friday in Ahmedabad. TOI understands that the team management has already expressed its desire to replace Gill at the top of the order after a long spell of lack of runs. The team moved from Gill as it reassessed its plans for the T20 World Cup, which starts in 48 days.
Inside the story of why Shubman Gill was DROPPED from India’s T20I World Cup squad
With the Indian T20I team rested since the start of the IPL, the team management and selectors have identified Gill as their all-format leader going forward. Hence a strategy was devised where they wanted the keeper to bat in the middle order. If one revisits the IPL, both Samson and Rishabh Pant have landed lower with the bat than their preferred positions. Gill was given a free run at the top of the order. Securing a place in the XI is top priority in Indian cricket these days. Gill even earned it as vice-captain despite not featuring in the T20 World Cup squad in 2024. He was perhaps the only batsman in Indian cricket who was absolutely clear about his batting positions across formats in the last eight months. This team management under head coach Gautam Gambhir has been bullish about not letting the superstar culture persist in the dressing room. Gill’s omission is a brutal reminder that even the man identified as the face of Indian cricket cannot hide behind non-performance. At the same time, the team management and selectors also cannot avoid the complete lack of transparency of his plans. Lack of clarity in Gill’s role, compromised performance When Gill was brought back to his opening slot in T20Is, the idea was to have at least one batsman who could bowl overs without really compromising on run rate. The idea revolved around the fact that there are very few high-scoring matches in major tournaments. Someone with Gill’s stability in the order can anchor an innings much like Virat Kohli for such a long time. “Gill was stuck in a spot where he probably felt the pressure to get to the top of the order. The whole idea behind the young and revamped T20I team was to keep the opposition under pressure with a high run rate. Gill may have caught up in that. He couldn’t quite find the balance between power and added stability,” a source close to the team management told TOI. This also led to India’s power strikes being compromised. The pressure fell back on the bowlers. The keeper now bats down the order, lending depth to the power hitting lineup. “With skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Gill woefully out of form, the other batsmen could not bat freely and the strike rate suffered,” the source added. TOI also understands that Surya has always had reservations about his team being disturbed by players returning from Test duties. As it turned out, the three players – Gill, Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal – who were asked to focus on Test cricket after the 2024 T20 World Cup, have all missed the upcoming edition in February-March. The management of the team had to go back to Ishan Kishan, who has not been in the Indian team for a couple of years. Bigger storm after T20 WC Agarkar and Gambhir are working together to build a stable team that can take Indian cricket forward smoothly in the coming decade. However, they failed to assign certain roles to the players. Gambhir thrives on a horse-for-courses philosophy. That said, Saturday’s pick also points to a future leader grooming project that has collapsed. “The board and selectors are preparing for many more tough calls after the T20 World Cup. The team management’s original plan regarding leadership has failed. After the T20 World Cup, they have to go back to preparing another leader even if Surya has a good tournament,” the source said. The team has a more balanced look on paper. The players selected in the squad battled uncertainty in their roles in the name of flexibility. It’s anyone’s guess whether the team management has finally zeroed in on the plan with five more T20Is remaining against New Zealand at home in January.
