table of contents
Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin criticized the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for dropping Shubman Gill from the T20I format amid his excellent form in the ODIs against Afghanistan.
On June 17, the current ODI captain of Team India ensured a spectacular win over Afghanistan by scoring more than 150 runs on an individual basis. Shubman Gill has been included in the national team for ODIs after a stellar performance in the IPL 2026 season with Gujarat Titans.
Should Shubman Gill get a place in T20I?
Due to his recent form, many cricket fans would have thought that Gill could retain his place in T20Is as well. Proving many people wrong, the selection panel keeps the top-order batsman away from the team in the shortest format of the game.
Former captain Mohammad Azharuddin was one of the loud voices who raised his voice against the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel for not selecting Shubman Gill in the T20Is. Azharuddin believes that Gill is worthy of representing India in all three formats.
Till now Shubman Gill is the captain only in Test and ODI team. Ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, the board had appointed the batsman as the T20I vice-captain, but he was dropped.
“Gill is handling (the captaincy job) very well. His individual performance has also improved a lot. He is one of the best players; I don’t know why they don’t pick him for T20. He is a good player for all formats and should not be dropped from any format,” Azharuddin raised the issue with news agency PTI in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
Gill performed brilliantly in the IPL 2026 season
The 26-year-old is one of the few Indian batsmen who has been scoring runs in the white-ball format for several months. Before joining the Indian cricket team for the ODI and one-off Test against Afghanistan, he had scored 732 runs at an average of 45.75 and a strike rate of 163.02 in 16 matches and as many innings in IPL 2026.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat Titans opener scored a century and six half-centuries to establish himself as a prolific Twenty20 batsman. The IPL 2026 season was considered to be the best platform for the batsman to prove his batting skills as a T20 format batsman.
He performed well as a batsman and also performed well as the captain of the team. Despite all the efforts, the selectors did not pick him for the upcoming T20Is against Ireland and England and also for the 2026 Asian Games.
154 runs at a strike rate of 140.00
Talking about yesterday’s game, Shubman Gill was adjudged the player of the match for his innings of 154 runs with the help of twenty-two fours and a few sixes.
He remained in the scorching heat of Lucknow for about 40 overs and batted at a strike rate of 140.00. If he continues to score runs in the upcoming matches, the pressure on the selectors will increase.