India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir stayed silent amid a media storm over Shubman Gill’s shocking omission from the T20 World Cup squad.
Arriving at Delhi airport shortly after the 15-member squad was announced,
Gambhir was mobbed by reporters demanding his opinion on the decision.
The former opening batter, however, refused to answer any questions, walking straight to his car and leaving without a word.
#WATCH | Indian Men’s Cricket Team Head Coach Gautam Gambhir arrives in Delhi
BCCI today announced India’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. pic.twitter.com/RbqVtaixyR
— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2025
The silence spoke volumes, as chief selector Ajit Agarkar had made a bold move by leaving out the 26-year-old vice-captain and Test/ODI skipper.
Gill had returned to T20Is during the Asia Cup, displacing Sanju Samson at the top of the order, but struggled for form — scoring 291 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 137.26 without registering a fifty, his top score being 47 against Pakistan.
Injuries compounded Gill’s troubles. A toe niggle forced him out of the final T20I against South Africa, allowing Samson to step in and score a quick 37 off 22 balls. With both Gill and Jitesh Sharma left out, Samson was confirmed as an opener alongside Abhishek Sharma. Axar Patel was appointed the new T20I vice-captain under Suryakumar Yadav.
SKY Spared For Now
Gill might be struggling, but Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s record is even bleaker.
India’s T20I captain has managed just 218 runs in 19 innings this year at a strike rate of 123.2 — his worst stretch since breaking into international cricket. Yet, unlike Gill, SKY stayed on the plane.
According to a PTI report, leadership — not form — tipped the scales.
“SKY, who by virtue of being the skipper, kept his place despite a horrific one-year run, while Gill suffered as his game didn’t seem as impactful as Abhishek Sharma’s,” the report stated.
The subtext is unmistakable: captaincy bought Suryakumar time, nothing more.
That buffer may be thin. The same report issued a clear warning — runs are non-negotiable in Gautam Gambhir’s setup.
“Anyone who knows Gambhir knows that for him, ‘winning is not everything but the only thing’. Today it was Gill, tomorrow it could be Suryakumar,” the report added.
