Harbhajan Singh Hits Bullseye On Shubman Gill's T20 World Cup Omission: "Not A Signal"

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh shared his views on star batter Shubman Gill's exclusion from the squad for the T20 World Cup in February. The 26-year-old endured a prolonged lean patch with the bat in T20Is, scoring just 291 runs in his last 15 innings at an average of 24.25. Sharing his views on Gill's snub, Harbhajan suggested that the lack of runs forced the team management to drop him. "Shubman Gill is short of runs at the moment. No, it's not a signal to Gill, you know, that he wasn't really taking his place as granted. But the competition is so much and they've got, you know, too many players at the present scenario who can fill the slot and can do well for the team," Harbhajan said at an event on Monday.

Harbhajan, however, backed Gill to come back stronger, adding that his snub should not be perceived as a demotion since he is still India's Test and ODI captain.

"And this is not the end of the road for Gill. He's a great, great player with beautiful technique. I think he will make a brilliant comeback. And not to forget, he's still a Test captain for India," he added.

Harbhajan also touched upon selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Suryakumar Yadav's remarks on the T20 World Cup squad, emphasising the team's balance.

"I was listening to Ajit [Agarkar] and Surya [Suryakumar Yadav], they were looking at the combination of the team, which will be best in the format. So I think giving that, those conditions and combinations, that respect. They chose this team. So Gill is a class player, there's no doubt about it, and he'll make a great comeback," he said.

India are placed in Group A alongside Namibia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and the United States and will start their campaign against the USA on February 7 in Mumbai.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Shubman Gill Suryakumar Yadav Harbhajan Singh Ajit Agarkar T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket