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Why Is Shubman Gill Not Playing in the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup?
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Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill Cricketer Shubman Gill at a nets session in Leeds, England, 2025.

Why Is Shubman Gill Not Playing in the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup?

Written by
Arpit Nayak
Arpit Nayak is an editor at Encyclopedia Britannica.
Arpit Nayak
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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It is not unusual to see teams shake up their rosters ahead of a major cricket tournament. However, more than a few eyebrows were raised when India’s 15-member squad for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup did not include batter Shubman Gill, the Indian team’s captain for Tests and One-Day Internationals and occasionally vice captain in the Twenty20 International (T20I) format. Though few are privy to the precise calculations that go into making such a call, some answers may be found in the numbers and a few more gleaned from selectors’ comments.

The statistics speak for themselves: Gill has not had a great run of form in T20I in the lead-up to the World Cup, making just 291 runs at an average of 24.25 since he was brought back into the side for the Asia Cup in September 2025. Before sustaining an injury in December that year, he managed a meager 32 runs in three innings during South Africa’s tour of India. The injury had raised doubts about his availability for the World Cup.

Sanju Samson, who replaced Gill as opening batter following the injury, features in the World Cup squad, as does left-handed batter Ishan Kishan. Although Kishan has not played a T20I for India since 2023, he hit a purple patch in the 2025–26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s domestic T20 championship, amassing 517 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of nearly 200.

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Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said in a press conference after the World Cup squad announcement that the team lineup came down to finding the right combination of players for the tournament. He explained that the selectors wanted two wicketkeeper-batters in the squad—with one as a backup—who could bat at the top of the order. Samson and Kishan, both of whom keep wickets, fill the bill, so Gill was left out. “Someone has to miss out when you pick 15 [players], and unfortunately it’s Gill at this point,” said Agarkar.

Arpit Nayak