Robin Uthappa, a former Indian player, offered a fascinating explanation for the exclusion of Shubman Gill from the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2026. He related it to the captain Suryakumar Yadav’s troubled times with the bat.
Robin Uthappa Discusses the Case of Shubman Gill Not Selected for the India Squad for T20 World Cup 2026
In a live YouTube chat session with cricket analyst and journalist Jarrod Kimber, the T20 World Cup 2007 winner said that it was not wise for the teams to have more than one player who was not in-form for an ICC tournament. Uthappa suggested that the missing of Gill was determined by the difficulties of Suryakumar with the bat in the calendar year.
“With World Cup sides, you can carry up to one player who’s not in great form; you can’t carry more than that. That’s probably it (he’s been dropped because SKY is not making runs),” Uthappa quipped.
Uthappa also discussed Gill’s recent performance in India’s home T20I series against South Africa earlier this month. According to the former batter, Gill was confused and had a tough time dealing with pacer Lungi Ngidi, who was able to trap him outside the off stump.
“I am not saying he [Shubman Gill] deserved to be there, given his current form. It feels like there’s a lot of confusion, even when he’s batting. He’s getting some good deliveries. Lungi bowled really well through the series and troubled him,” added Uthappa.
Shubman Gill made his way back to the India T20I squad for the Asia Cup 2025 and was appointed vice-captain. His comeback necessitated certain alterations to the team’s lineup by the management, as Gill took the place of Sanju Samson as an opener, while the latter was first shifted to the middle order and then dropped. Nevertheless, the 25- year-old could not make it unforgettable as he scored just 291 runs in 15 T20Is averaging 24.25 and 137.26 as his strike rate. Moreover, he could not even touch the 50-run milestone once. To top it all off, Gill only scored four sixes which reflected his lack of form.
On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav’s performance was even worse; he managed to get only 218 runs in his last 19 innings. He had an average of 13.62 and a strike rate of 123.16 without any fifties. But the team has become a giant in the format under his captaincy after the T20 World Cup 2024. India had the super record of winning 22 matches out of 27 and they have not lost any series, including the Asia Cup 2025.
Moreover, switching a captain with the ICC tournament around the corner does not make any sense at all. Besides, Suryakumar Yadav opening up any bowling attack will not only give India the flexibility in the middle-order but also maintain their supremacy and safeguard their title.
Robin Uthappa Backs India Squad for Title Win
The ex-India opener was taken aback by the absence of Shubman Gill when the T20 World Cup 2026 squad was made known and he stated that such a surprise made him very happy. Nevertheless, he was of the opinion that India still had the strong team to defend the title.
“I was shocked but really happy. They nixed a really solid side. But the way they’ve gone about it, and for me, it’s not dropping people; it’s about how you go about making these decisions,” he concluded.
