Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh explained why the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) snubbed Shubman Gill from their T20Is plans ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. It was a surprising call by the team management, as before the T20 World Cup, Gill was the vice-captain of the T20I team, deputy of Suryakumar Yadav.
In a recent conversation with Sports Tak, Yuvraj Singh, who guided Shubman Gill in his career, tried to explain some possible reasons for which he was excluded from the team, right before the showcase tournament.
In his explanation, Singh did not blame the management for not considering his student for the T20 World Cup team, but pointed out the circumstances under which Gill could be in the team.
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Yuvraj Singh mentioned Virat Kohli for example
Shubman Gill was among the few cricketers who played relentlessly across all three formats. He is the captain of the ODI and Test team as well. Yuvraj said that it is very tough for anyone to maintain the same performance in all three formats. He talked about Virat Kohli, the former India captain who played equally well for India in all three formats.
“It is very difficult to perform consistently in three formats. Two months of the year, are the same. If you look at this graph, there is only one person in this graph. In the last 10-15 years, Virat Kohli, who has consistently performed in all these formats, has also been a captain. If you have brought a person into the T20 team, you are making him play T20 the whole year, getting ready for the World Cup”, Yuvraj Singh said.
Yuvraj Singh explained why the BCCI axed Shubman Gill from the T20I team
Yuvraj further stated that Gill’s last-minute performance might have affected his selection for the T20 World Cup. Singh explained that a team is allowed to select a squad of 15 players, including two keeper-batters. Before the selection, Gill’s performance against Australia might not have been up to the mark for the selectors.
“And the last moment he doesn’t make the team because of performances, then that’s a tough call. Because you have to make 15, normally you are taking 16-17. That becomes a tough call. And then obviously you want an extra keeper,” the former cricketer further said.
Performance vs Australia might have harmed Gill’s T20I chances
“So, if you go back, I think Shubman was betting on 37 or 20 balls in Australia. That a person is making runs in Australia. So, the performances of the T20 team, you ought to assess them like that. That you have to run in 3 matches, 4 matches, 5 matches. Because you know that you have to come and win the 6th or 7th match,” he added.
🚨 Yuvraj Singh on Shubman Gill’s exclusion from the T20 World Cup. pic.twitter.com/feA9BjqokH
— Ahmed Says (@AhmedGT_) April 3, 2026
Currently, Shubman Gill is busy with the Gujarat Titans in the ongoing IPL 2026. Many cricket experts believe that this season can be the ideal stage for the batter to show his true potential as a T20 batter.
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