Gill question looms in an otherwise simple selection

Given the recent record of the India team in T20Is under captain Suryakumar Yadav, team selection for the upcoming World Cup should be a straightforward exercise.

- Sanjjeev K Samyal

Starting with the series in Sri Lanka in July, 2024, India has won all the six series including the Asia Cup.However, when the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee meets on Saturday to pick the Indian team squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 and the T20I series against New Zealand in January, they will feel the need to spend extra time deliberating on the players they have backed in the lead up to the home World Cup.

When the form of two top-order players is a concern, any selection committee will take a hard look at the combination. In this case, India's worry is the low returns of their captain Surya and Shubman Gill.

Having gone so far and so close to the World Cup, it won't be wise to make any changes to the set of players picked for the South Africa series, but there's definitely a case of tinkering with the original plans.

For all the calls made by Agarkar & Co, not everyone is convinced about Gill's T20 selection. There's a debate whether it was needed at all.