Combinations cost Gill his place in WC

FROM the moment BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia read out Axar Patel as vice-captain, murmurs began in the press conference room at the cricket body’s headquarters in Mumbai.

- GOMESH S @Chennai

So much so that he was asked to repeat the entire squad once again just to make it clear. Shubman Gill, who was handed the vice-captaincy only three months ago, was dropped from the India squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup.After 15 innings at the top as opener, where he managed 291 runs at an average of 24.25 and 137.26 strike rate, Gill was not only stripped of his title but also left out of the squad for the marquee event. He also missed the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies. The decision was a shocker of course, mainly due to the timing of the announcement. In the last few weeks or so, questions had been raised over Gill’s place in the squad, especially because his return had disrupted an already settled opening stand in Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. Despite the question marks, it seemed like Gill, who is India captain in other two formats, would retain his place before Saturday afternoon’s last-minute changes.