"My choice would have been Jaiswal" - Former chief selector’s huge statement on Team India's T20 World Cup 2026 squad

Former Team India selector Dilip Vengsarkar believes young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has been hard done by with his omission from the 2026 T20 World Cup squad. Despite boasting an impressive T20I record, the 23-year-old has not played for India in the format since July 2024.

Even with the sudden dropping of Shubman Gill from the World Cup squad, Jaiswal could not find a place in the final 15. Instead, the Men in Blue went with Ishan Kishan as a reserve wicketkeeper who can open the batting.

Talking to the PTI about Jaiswal's constant exclusion from the T20I setup, Vengsarkar said (via NDTV):

"They are all excellent players, but I am with selection committee when they judge players on the basis of current form and fitness. Current form does play an important role in the context of selection. And if you ask whom I would have picked instead of Gill, my choice would have been Jaiswal. He has proven time and again what a class performer he is and has always given the team the kind of starts required these days."

He continued:

"It is unfortunate that Yashasvi is being left out time and again for no fault of his. He has been in tremendous form across all formats of the game, and I don't know what else he has to do to get into the team. Nobody should leave a match-winner out of the team."

Jaiswal was part of India's 2024 T20 World Cup-winning squad but did not play a single game. He averages an excellent 36.15 at a strike rate of 164.31 in 23 T20Is.

"Bound to lose confidence if you are made to feel that you are not required" - Dilip Vengsarkar

Dilip Vengsarkar warned India that Yashasvi Jaiswal may lose confidence due to his constant exclusion from the Indian T20I side. The southpaw has been among the most impactful openers in the past few IPL seasons, amassing over 400 runs in the last three editions with a strike rate of over 150 on each occasion.

"You are bound to lose confidence if you are made to feel that you are not required in one format. I mean, it will affect his confidence, and this game is all about confidence. And confidence comes when you have performances backed by runs," said Vengsarkar (via the aforementioned source).

Jaiswal has scored 3,682 runs in his overall T20 career at an average of 33.47 and a strike rate of over 152 in 121 outings.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran