"Did Nothing Wrong": Sunil Gavaskar On India Star's Omission For T20 World Cup. Not Shubman Gill

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar backed the selection of in-form batter Ishan Kishan in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, which is set to be played in February-March. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors brought back the wicketkeeper-batter following his impressive performance in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India's domestic T20 tournament. Kishan, who has been out of favour for more than two years now due to fitness and availability issues, led Jharkhand to the title with a splendid hundred in the final.

As Kishan made a return to India's squad for the world event, Jitesh Sharma was dropped, given that another wicketkeeper, Sanju Samson, was also included in the team at the expense of an out-of-form Shubman Gill.

Gavaskar was happy about Kishan's return to the India squad, but he also felt bad for Jitesh being snubbed.

"When you see someone performing, you pick him. Ishan Kishan has already been in the side and shown he can do it. That is a big plus. His current form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy proves that domestic cricket performance must be the selection criteria, not just the IPL. I am very happy for him. He was out of the team for a couple of years but made a fantastic comeback by leading his state team Jharkhand to a title winning season," said Gavaskar on JioStar.

Gavaskar praised Jitesh as well and said that the player did nothing wrong to be left out. He added that Jitesh has been the best wicketkeeper after MS Dhoni when it comes to judging DRS calls for India.

"I feel for Jitesh Sharma though. He did nothing wrong. He was a very good wicketkeeper in his chances, and after MS Dhoni, he was perhaps the best at helping the captain with DRS calls from behind the stumps. It is tough on him, but he is young. He just needs to go back to domestic cricket and keep performing," the batting great said.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket India Cricket Team T20 World Cup 2026 Sunil Gavaskar Jitesh Sharma Ishan Kishan