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Agarkar and Shubman Gill - (Source: AFP)
On Saturday, December 20, the BCCI headquarters hosted a selection meeting to finalise India's 15 member T20 World Cup 2026. Secretary Devajit Saikia, captain Suryakumar Yadav, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar held a press conference where they made the 15-member list public.
The selection committee made surprises to their existing combinations as Shubman Gill failed to get a place in the 15-member list. Gill acted as Men in Blue's vice-captain and his absence has left the internet talking. There was a chatter around his place in the team despite absence of runs and during the conference, Agarkar explained the reason behind Gill not having a place in the team.
Ajit Agarkar explains Shubman Gill's exclusion, Axar's appointment
Notably, during the press conference, Agarkar also revealed that Axar Patel has replaced Shubman Gill as the new vice-captain and explained Gill's absence and also Patel's appointment as SKY's deputy.
"Shubman was the vice-captain, he's not in the team. Axar was the vice-captain when the T20s used to clash. About continuity, you're looking at combinations. If your keeper is going to bat at the top, you want a keeper who can play there. Jitesh was there, Shubman is a quality player and unfortunate to miss out. Combinations more than anything else, two keepers at the top. Rinku comes who gives that lower middle order option," Agarkar stated during the conference.
Notably, Gill returned to India's T20I set-up during Asia Cup 2025 and since then, he has scored just 291 runs in 15 innings, averaging 24.25.
India's squad for T20 World Cup 2026
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vc), Ishan Kishan (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar
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