How BCCI’s blind push for Shubman Gill hurt Yashasvi Jaiswal’s T20 World Cup case

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill. [Source - @bcci/x]

The BCCI’s recent push to make Shubman Gill an all-format player had unintended consequences. The most notable was for Yashasvi Jaiswal, arguably one of India’s best T20 batters at present.

With the T20 World Cup 2026 approaching, Shubman Gill was backed relentlessly at the top of the order, given extra time to adapt, and even made vice-captain. That same level of faith was not shown to Jaiswal, who had been India’s backup opener behind Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in 2024 edition.

Jaiswal’s explosive start to his T20I career

After shining for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, Yashasvi Jaiswal emerged as one of India’s most explosive T20 batters between his T20I debut in 2023 and mid 2024, with numbers that spoke volumes.

Table - India's best T20I batters between Aug 2023 to July 2024. 

In the powerplay, Jaiswal's strike-rate stood at 166.45, far superior to Gill’s 131.08 during the same period. After the T20I retirement of Rohit and Kohli, it was clear that Jaiswal would become India’s first-choice opener for the 2026 mega event.

The Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka tour that followed briefly suggested the same, with Jaiswal and Gill named as the first-choice opening pair. On pitches that produced low-scoring games in Sri Lanka, Jaiswal struck at over 177, proving his value even when conditions were difficult.

Test duties hampered Yashasvi Jaiswal's T20I progress

Scheduling then played a key role. Test commitments kept both Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal out of series against Bangladesh and South Africa, opening the door for Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, who capitalized on their chances. 

Fast forward to 2025, when Test players returned ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, only Gill was brought back into the T20I side. Gill was then given a long rope of 15 innings across the Asia Cup, Australia tour, and South Africa series. 

In that stretch, while Jaiswal kept waiting for his chance, Gill failed to score a single half-century, striking at 137.26 and averaging 24.25. Only after this extended run did selectors move on, leaving Gill out of the T20 World Cup squad.

---

ALSO READ

India squad for T20 WC- SMAT top performers who could have been picked yet missed out

---

Time ran out for Jaiswal despite superior numbers

By the time reality intervened, it was too late. Yashasvi Jaiswal never received the same opportunity as Gill to prove himself. The damage was done, and the BCCI finalized the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup on Saturday.

Jaiswal was arguably India’s best option after Abhishek to open the innings in the T20 World Cup at home, boasting the second-best balls-per-boundary record among India’s active top-four T20I batters.

Table - Balls per boundary for India in T20Is.

Even if there were doubts about his form, Jaiswal recently scored a century in SMAT for Mumbai and made 559 runs in IPL 2025 at an average of 43 and strike rate of 159.71, including six half-centuries. 

Moreover, Jaiswal's powerplay strike-rate of 177.40 ranked among the best in IPL 2025, highlighting just how dangerous an opening pair he could have formed with Abhishek for India.

Having said that, we know selection always involves choices, but fairness matters as well. Yashasvi Jaiswal's exclusion was not about form or numbers, it was about opportunity. And in backing one player in Shubman Gill for too long, India may have overlooked another who was ready all along. 

---

ALSO READ

Shreyas Iyer captain, Jaiswal opener- India’s parallel squad to beat T20 World Cup 2026 team

---