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India have announced their T20I squad for the upcoming World Cup in 2026. One of the biggest surprises was Shubman Gill missing out as Axar Patel was announced as the vice-captain in his place. The right-handed batter’s omission left Indian legend, Sunil Gavaskar genuinely taken aback, with the former Indian captain calling it a shock on air as the squad was discussed.
Gavaskar began by admitting he didn’t see it coming. “Not a bit of a surprise, it is a surprise.”
He doubled down on Gill’s pedigree even while acknowledging the recent dip. “Because he’s a class act. Quality batter, who’s had a fabulous season with the bat. Yes, I know he struggled for these few matches against South Africa. But you know, class always tells in the end. You know form is always a little temporary,” said Gavaskar.
The former Indian batter tried to explain why T20 can magnify rust when a batter returns after a period of time away. “And he was also coming after a long layoff. So when he was not in any rhythm, one can understand when you are not in rhythm, and you are playing the shortest format of the game, where you have to go bang, bang,” said Gavaskar.
He felt Gill’s natural method could look slower when timing is missing. even if the format isn’t unfamiliar. “And however much you can say that, you know, you can play that, if you’re naturally bent, he is more a Test player. You can see that all his natural bent is to be playing along the ground, to be, you know, hitting in the wheel. It doesn’t come easily, then to be able to do the kind of shots that get you runs in the T20. So he had a little bit of a problem, but he’s very good indeed. We’ve seen in the IPL, he’s very very good. So the T20 format is not something strange for him,” said Gavaskar.
The flight chat and the ‘nazar’ advice
Gavaskar also revealed he had just travelled from Ahmedabad with Gill and Suryakumar Yadav. “He was also on the same flight coming back just now from Ahmedabad, along with Surya.”
He revealed how he advised Gill to ask someone older in his family to cast off the evil eye from him. “You know, when we were getting off, and I do hope Shubman takes it in the right spirit, because all I do is want, you know, the very best for him. I said that some of these injuries that he’s had have been a little freakish. And therefore you know that neck injury and then of course the knee injury. I said, Ghar pe kisiko bolo nazar utar de. You know, because we believe in that. We believe in ki kabhi kabhi nazar lag jaati hain.”
Well, that seemed like good advice from a senior player, who has seen the ups and downs of the games himself. However, for Shubman Gill, it is time to regroup and prepare for the next assignment.
