Ruturaj Gaikwad drops heartwarming emojis on RCB's social media post for discarded India star after T20 World Cup squad announcement

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad dropped a heartwarming reaction on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s post after wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma missed out on a place in the 15-member squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

For the unversed, Jitesh was part of India’s T20I squad in all games this year, including the 2025 Asia Cup and bilateral series against Australia and South Africa. The right-handed batter amassed 62 runs in his limited opportunities (five innings) at a strike rate of 158.97. Overall, he has scored 162 runs in 12 innings (16 T20Is) at a strike rate of 151.40 for the Men in Blue.

RCB’s social media post showed Jitesh looking at the sky, writing ‘All Heart. Born to fight.” Sharing the photo, they wrote:

“Brave. Bold. Brilliant. Can’t wait to see Jitesh’s heroics in the T20 format this IPL.”

Replying to the post, Gaikwad dropped four heart emojis and one virtual hug, extending support. See below:

Ruturaj Gaikwad's reply to RCB post. [Pic credits: @royalchallengers.bengaluru on Instagram]

Notably, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) picked Ishan Kishan as Jitesh Sharma’s replacement for the 2026 T20 World Cup. The Jharkhand skipper emerged as the leading run-scorer in the 2025 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), scoring 517 runs in 10 innings with the help of two tons and as many fifties. He slammed 101 in the summit clash against Haryana to guide Jharkhand to their maiden title in the T20 tournament.

RCB mentor Dinesh Kartik expressed his shock as Jitesh Sharma and Shubman Gill failed to make the cut in the final squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup. He claimed that there was a lack of clarity by the selectors. In an Instagram post, he said:

“They wanted to bring in an extra opener, so they brought in Ishaan Kishan and dropped Jitesh Sharma as well. Instead of Jitesh Sharma, it's gonna be Rinku Singh. That is huge news, dropping Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma. I didn't see that coming. Just tells you there's a little bit of clarity lacking. They've backed Shubman Gill for so long, and come the day when they pick the squad, they have let him go.”

BCCI chief selector explains why India picked Ishan Kishan over Jitesh Sharma and Shubman Gill for T20 World Cup

BCCI’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that Jitesh Sharma and Shubman Gill didn’t fit their team combination for the 2026 T20 World Cup. He said at the press conference:

“If your keeper is going to bat at the top, our thought was to have another keeper just in case there is a problem. At the moment, Jitesh was there, again, has not done too much wrong.” “We know what a quality player he (Gill) is, perhaps short of a little bit of runs at the moment, unfortunate to miss out, he missed out in the last World Cup as well. It is combinations more than anything else. Two keepers at the top, that is the way we want to try. Someone has to miss out when you pick 15, and unfortunately, it is Gill at this point. It is not because he is not a good player,” he added.

India’s squad for T20I series against NZ announced & ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, and Ishan Kishan (WK).

Defending champions India will begin their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign against the USA on February 7.

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Edited by James Kuanal