Leg and Off: Did India err by not picking Shubman Gill for IND vs ENG T20Is 2025?

Team India batter Shubman Gill was not selected for the upcoming five-match T20I series against England. The youngster has not had a grasp over the shortest format, and has been far from a first-choice candidate compared to his hold over the other two formats, which are also not set in stone given his recent returns.

Gill has been in the pool of opening batters that India have considered for the 2026 T20 World Cup, but he is slowly sliding down the pecking order, and could be in serious trouble without scores under his belt, which can only come with opportunities.

Team India squad for five-match T20I series against England

Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel (vice-capt), Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar.

On that note, let us take a look at the factors justifying Gill's omission from the squad, as well as why it may be a mistake.

#1 Sanju Samson's emergence as an opener has made it tougher for Gill

Team India have been belligerent in their last two T20I series against Bangladesh and South Africa, and signs indicate that they will not back away from this approach. They have amassed scores of over 200 pretty casually, and a huge reason behind that is Sanju Samson's promotion to the top.

The race for the opening slots was already crowded before Samson stamped his authority on it. The Men in Blue braced for big changes at the top after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirements. Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal were the front-runners considering their reputation and left-hand-right-hand pairing. Abhishek Sharma, with his ruthlessness, and Ruturaj Gaikwad's consistency

Three hundreds in the span of five matches has propelled Samson into the conversation as well, and if he can maintain a respectable consistency, then he is a realistic candidate for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Jaiswal is deemed as an all-round prospect. Abhishek Sharma's raw, uninhibited aggression, coupled with his part-time bowling ability, also keeps him in the mix, at least as the first-choice back-up.

But, Gill does not have much to stand out in the T20 format when compared to his peers. Things were a bit different when he won the Orange Cap in the IPL 2023, when there was not much competition.

#2 Gill needs to do more to be a first-choice opener

In his first 10 T20I innings, Gill was dismissed in single-digit scores six times. A one-ff ton against New Zealand, and a lack of killer competition helped him get a longer rope.

Even after 21 T20Is, five of which he has played as captain, there is not much to back Shubman Gill's case as a T20 batter, or something to suggest that he ranks above his peers. The ability might be there, but to apply that to the approach that the team are currently deploying along with his persistent consistency and conversion problem is a huge debate.

Consistency might be a hard ask while playing such high-risk cricket, but there has to be something in the form of output to be in the selectors' radar. But, so far, he is making the work easy for them by not giving them a headache.

#3 India need a confident Gill for the long run

It is easy to say that Gill has not been selected in the T20I series because he was part of the Border-Gavaskar series, and has been rested for the ODI series and the Champions Trophy. However, from another perspective, primarily from Gill's point of view, it's hard not to view it as a missed opportunity.

India could do with rotation in the five-match series, considering that it is a bilateral series, with experimentation with combination for the T20 World Cup being the primary agenda. However, India have named only two openers - Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma - who are likely to open the entire series.

Workload is not a concern as far as Gill is concerned, compared to the likes of Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Gill played only three Tests in Australia, and faced only 163 balls in total.

Even before the ODI series has begun, his place is already under threat due to Yashasvi Jaiswal's rise. In such a time, Gill could have used some backing, and the T20I series against England was the perfect avenue to help find him some rhythm, and send him into the ODI leg with some confidence and security.

To conclude, India won't regret not giving Gill game time in the England series, as far as just the five-match affair or the short-term is concerned. However, with some crucial assignments coming up, India could have used this opportunity to hand him a few games to get the bad scores remaining in his rough patch, out.