Former Indian wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani reckons omitting Shubman Gill from the T20 World Cup squad wasn’t the right call. Gill was the team’s vice-captain but had failed to grab his opportunity as an opener, failing to score a fifty in 2025.
The right-hander had missed the last two T20Is against South Africa due to a foot injury, which he suffered in the nets ahead of the abandoned T20I in Lucknow. Gill scored just 291 runs in 15 innings at an average of 24.25 and a strike rate of 137.26 and thus found no place in the team.
Krimani said Gill should not have been dropped despite his indifferent form in the shortest form.
The former gloveman said on IANS, “You must withstand and overlook these fluctuations without sidelining a player who performed well in earlier matches. His excellent form, outstanding innings, especially the iconic one in England against England, shouldn’t be ignored. You see, as poor form occurs, that doesn’t necessarily mean removing the player from the team. So, if he was dropped because of his form, don’t think it was the right call.”
“However, there should be clarity when a player is not selected or is dropped. There’s a difference between not being chosen and being dropped, and reasons—such as personal issues—should be shared, similar to how foreign players or the selection committee communicate.”
On the other hand, Rishabh Pant has been picked as a backup wicketkeeper for KL Rahul for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand. Kirmani said Pant has a lot of competition in the white-ball format.
“He (Pant) has got a lot of age behind him, and he is a talent in abundance. There is no two ways about it. So he cannot be overlooked. But at the same time, there is so much competition for him. There are four or five wicket-keepers. You cannot overlook their performance either,” said Kirmani (via the aforementioned source).
“And off and on, he has not been very consistent in meeting the team’s requirements. So that doesn’t mean that he should be sidelined totally. As and when he is in good form, he can be brought in at any time.”
India Squad for T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Axar Patel (vc), Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Rinku Singh
