‘If I were Ajit Agarkar, I would switch off my phone’: Ashwin on Shubman Gill’s T20I selection

Shubman Gill (Image credit: BCCI) NEW DELHI: With several exciting T20 talents emerging, team selection has become a major headache for the selectors. Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes Shubman Gill, who is in ominous form in IPL 2026, deserves a place in India’s T20I set-up. However, with youngsters like Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya along with established names like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma and veteran Sanju Samson already in contention, the competition has become intense.“It’s hard to talk, my friend. If I wasn’t Ajit Agarkar, I would have picked up the phone at the time of selection and gone to the Maldives. I wouldn’t have picked up the phone,” he said.Shubman lost his place in India’s T20I setup ahead of the home series against the New Zealand national cricket team ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.However, India’s Test and ODI captain responded in style with a sensational IPL 2026 campaign. Gill scored 616 runs in 13 matches at an average of 47.38 and a strike rate of 161.68, including six half-centuries. He also led Gujarat Titans to the playoffs.“He’s a good player. But tell me – a young kid bats at 220, that’s special, maybe even more special. Sanju Samson opened such a strong innings in the T20 World Cup, you can’t ignore him. Abhishek Sharma is also playing consistent attacking cricket, doing very well for SRH too (he’s obviously a very good batsman when you’re young). 220, maybe even more special,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.“There is incredible talent in India at the moment. Injuries happen naturally, but I am happy that the players are translating our pain into performances. Exactly. There are players like Vaibhav Suryavanshi, youngsters like Priyansh, there are tough openers. And you see, we forget the name of KL Rahul every now and then. All the players naturally push each other. times, but what makes me happy is that they translate the pain into performances and sometimes we even forget mention that KL Rahul is pushing each other – playing cricket with high intent and still scoring.No one is worse here.Shubman, who played his last T20I in 2025 against the South African national cricket team in Dharamsala, appeared in 36 T20Is and scored 869 runs at an average of 28.03 and a strike rate of 138.59, including one century and three fifties.

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“Shubman Gill has as much potential as he can, he can do even better. If you look at any national T20 team in the world, Shubman Gill’s name will definitely be there. The talent of Indian cricket is so strong that the competition looks both unfortunate and lucky. Indian cricket is on a different level (Shubman Gill has huge potential and Shubman Gill can become even better in any world team.20 Gill Gill’s name will appear there, India’s talent pool is so strong that even Indian cricket feels unhappy,” he said.Ashwin also said that the way Virat Kohli still operates would have remained a part of the T20I setup had he not retired from the format after India’s triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup.“People say Virat Kohli doesn’t deserve? He has done so much for Indian cricket. If he didn’t retire, he would be in the current setup even today. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s IPL might not have been like last year but his name is still in the discussion to open the T20. comes up whenever T20 opening options are discussed,” Ashwin said.