Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has said that the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, picked Shubman Gill for the T20Is solely due to his brilliant performance in the five-match Test series in England, adding that they have rectified their ‘mistake’ by dropping him from the T20 World Cup squad.
On the day of the fourth T20I against South Africa, the decision was taken to leave Gill out of the T20 World Cup team, but until Saturday morning, he hadn’t been informed by Agarkar, nor had captain
Suryakumar Yadav or head coach Gautam Gambhir conveyed the decision to him, according to a report in PTI.While Suryakumar, despite a poor record over the past year, has been given a reprieve, it is natural that Gill may feel let down and disrespected
by the manner in which he was dropped.
“When you pick someone excitedly on Test performance for T20s, this is what happens. Gill omission is basically selectors rectifying a mistake they made when they got a bit carried away after the England tour,” Manjrekar tweeted on Saturday evening.
When you pick some one excitedly on Test performance for T20s, this is what happens. Gill omission is basically selectors rectifying a mistake they made when they got a bit carried away after the England tour. #T20WorldCup
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) December 20, 2025
Gill finished as the highest run-scorer in the England Test series, scoring 754 runs in five matches at a stunning average of 75.4.
The moment reports emerged that Gill had injured his toe while batting, it became clear that something was amiss and that the team management, led by Gambhir and Suryakumar, had already started moving on from Gill’s place in the team.
According to the report, the team management had already decided to drop Gill, even though he was keen to play the Ahmedabad game and the injury wasn’t considered serious.
