Following Shubman Gill's omission from India's T20 World Cup 2026 squad, cricket icon Sunil Gavaskar has shared his

thoughts on the matter and offered words of encouragement to the young batsman. The decision to leave Gill out, coupled

with his removal as vice-captain, has raised eyebrows among fans and cricket analysts alike.

Axar Patel has stepped in to assume the role of India’s vice-captain for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Gavaskar, speaking

on Star Sports, urged Gill to handle this setback with grace and maturity. He noted, "I hope Shubman takes this in the

right spirit. I wish him the best. Some of his injuries have been strange."

Despite this setback, Gavaskar remains optimistic about Gill's future in cricket. He believes that this decision isn't a

career-ender for the promising player. Furthermore, Gavaskar expressed confidence that chief selector Ajit Agarkar would

personally communicate with Gill to explain the rationale behind the selection choice. "Knowing Ajit Agarkar, I'm pretty

sure he'll be on the phone to Shubman, trying to explain to him why they took the call that they did," he stated.

Gavaskar also suggested that the team management is attempting to rectify earlier tactical decisions. He pointed out

that when Gill was reinstated into the T20 squad, Sanju Samson experienced a demotion in the batting order. Prior to

this, Samson and Abhishek Sharma had forged a successful opening partnership, characterized by their left-right batting

combination and aggressive intent from the first ball. Gavaskar elaborated, "And I think it's a course correction. In

the sense that when Shubman came into the T20 squad, Sanju Samson went down the order. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma

had formed a very good opening pair - a left-hand, right-hand combination - looking to hit the first ball of the game

for a six and getting India off to fabulous starts."

Elaborating on the situation, Gavaskar added, "I think that is something Ajit will definitely speak to Shubman about,

assuring him that he's always going to be in the discussion. But for this particular tournament, considering the fact

that he's had some injuries and hasn't been in the best of touch, they've left him out. That doesn't mean he won't be

part of future teams." Gill's recent form in T20 cricket has been a concern, and a series of injuries have impacted his

consistency. Since his return to the T20I side during the Asia Cup 2025, he has participated in 15 matches without

registering a single half-century. These factors ultimately contributed to the selectors' decision to exclude him from

the World Cup squad. In summary, while acknowledging the disappointment, Gavaskar projects that Gill remains a player of

interest for future competitions, provided he can regain his form and fitness.