Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh explained why the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) left out Shubman Gill from its T20I plans ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. It was a surprising call by the team management, as before the T20 World Cup, Gill was the vice-captain of the T20I team, with Suryakumar Yadav being the vice-captain.
In a recent conversation with Sports Tak, Yuvraj Singh, who mentored Shubman Gill in his career, tried to explain some possible reasons why he was dropped from the team just ahead of the showcase tournament.
In his explanation, Singh did not blame the management for not considering their understudy for the T20 World Cup squad, but rather pointed to the circumstances under which Gill could have been in the squad.
Yuvraj Singh mentioned Virat Kohli as an example
Shubman Gill was one of the few cricketers who played consistently in all three formats. He is also the captain of ODI and Test team. Yuvraj said that it is very difficult for anyone to maintain the same performance in all three formats. He talked about former India captain Virat Kohli who played equally well for India in all three formats.
Yuvraj Singh said, “It is very difficult to perform consistently well in three formats. Two months of the year are the same. If you look at this graph, there is only one person in this graph. Virat Kohli, who has performed consistently well in all these formats in the last 10-15 years, has also been the captain. If you have brought a person in the T20 team, then you are making him play T20 for the whole year, preparing him for the World Cup.”
Yuvraj Singh told why BCCI dropped Shubman Gill from T20 team
Yuvraj further said that Gill’s last-minute performance could impact his selection for the T20 World Cup. Singh said that a team is allowed to select a squad of 15 players including two keeper-batsmen. Prior to selection, Gill’s performance against Australia may not have been to the selectors’ liking.
The former cricketer further added, “And at the last moment he doesn’t come into the team because of performance, so it is a tough decision. Because you have to make 15, normally you are taking 16-17. It becomes a tough decision. And then obviously you want an extra keeper.”
Performance against Australia could hurt Gill’s T20I prospects
He said, “So, if you go back, I think Shubman was betting on 37 or 20 balls in Australia. That a person is going to score runs in Australia. So, the performance of a T20 team, you should judge it that way. You have to get runs in 3 matches, 4 matches, 5 matches. Because you know you have to win the 6th or 7th match.”
Yuvraj Singh on Shubman Gill’s exit from T20 World Cup. pic.twitter.com/feA9BjqokH
– Ahmed says (@AhmedGT_) 3 April 2026
Currently, Shubman Gill is busy with Gujarat Titans in the ongoing IPL 2026. Many cricket experts believe that this season could be the ideal platform for the batsman to showcase his true potential as a T20 batsman.
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