Overview
- Ajit Agarkar’s panel named the 15 for 2026, omitting vice-captain Shubman Gill due to lean T20 returns as Ishan Kishan was recalled, Jitesh Sharma dropped and Axar Patel named deputy.
- Media analyses cite Gill’s 291 runs without a fifty in 15 recent T20I innings and uncertainty over his role as factors behind the move, with Sanju Samson restored at the top.
- Reports say the selectors were split on Gill, with Agarkar backing him and newer members RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha opposing, which contributed to his exclusion.
- Gill has been named in Punjab’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad with Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh, offering an immediate domestic route to regain form before January internationals.
- After Pakistan beat India by 191 runs to win the U19 Asia Cup in Dubai, the BCCI plans a review and will seek explanations from coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar and captain Ayush Mhatre ahead of next month’s U19 World Cup.