"Shubman Gill failed to rise to that kind of expectation" - Saba Karim's huge take on opener being dropped from India's 2026 T20 World Cup squad

Former India player Saba Karim has opined that Shubman Gill has been dropped from the Men in Blue's 2026 T20 World Cup squad because he failed to live up to the team management and selectors' expectations. He noted that Gill had to be left out once the think tank decided to have a wicketkeeper-batter as an opener.

The selectors picked a 15-member Indian squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup on Saturday, December 20. Gill, who has been India's vice-captain in their last few T20I series, failed to make the side.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Saba was asked about his thoughts on the decision to drop Gill from India's 2026 T20 World Cup squad.

"The first thing a selection committee meeting does is that it looks at the top-order batters, especially in a T20 game, and once the team management and selectors decided that they needed a wicketkeeper to open the innings, then the rest falls in place quite easily. My compliments to Ajit (Agarkar) and company because very seldom have we seen two big changes coming just before the World Cup," the former India selector responded. "They have relied heavily on current form and, secondly, to have a solid backup player. Everybody knows that Shubman Gill is such a class player. They tried to incorporate him in the T20 setup, but unfortunately, Shubman Gill failed to rise to that kind of expectation. That is why they are looking at trying a different combination," he added.

The selectors chose Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan as the two wicketkeeper-batters in India's 2026 T20 World Cup squad. While Samson will likely open with Abhishek Sharma, Kishan has potentially been chosen as his backup at the top of the order.

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"This is a massive course correction that the selectors have done" - Saba Karim on Shubman Gill being ignored for 2026 T20 World Cup

Shubman Gill has been bothered by a lack of form and injuries lately. [P/C: Getty]

In the same discussion, Saba Karim lauded the selectors for doing a massive course correction just before the 2026 T20 World Cup.

"I think this is a massive course correction that the selectors have done, and I am very glad to see that they have been able to do this kind of a course correction just before the World Cup," he said.

The former India wicketkeeper-batter added that chief selector Ajit Agarkar and the team management would have been involved in intense discussions before making the bold move of leaving out Shubman Gill.

"It's a huge call taken by the selectors, but I think, eventually, they have picked a solid 15, which will help India to retain the World Cup title. Ajit Agarkar and the team management must have had some serious conversations before taking such a bold call," Saba observed.

Shubman Gill managed 291 runs at an underwhelming average of 24.25 in 15 T20I innings in 2025. He didn't score a half-century, with a 47-run knock in the Asia Cup 2025 Super Fours clash against Pakistan being his top score.

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Edited by Kartik Iyer