Indian dressing room 'confused, not secured' under Gambhir as Gill T20 World Cup call triggered uncertainty: Report

A media report claimed that Shubman Gill's T20 World Cup omission sparked uncertainty among players over the direction of Gautam Gambhir’s regime.

The BCCI made a startling call last week by shelving their ‘project Shubman Gill’ after the India ODI and Test captain was left out of the T20 World Cup squad. Gill, who was also T20I vice-captain and seen as the next all-format leader, failed to make the final cut, triggering unease within the Indian dressing room. A PTI report claimed the decision sparked uncertainty among players over the direction of Gautam Gambhir’s regime.

Shubman Gill was not picked for the T20 World Cup(AFP)

Gill was brought back into the T20I fold in September of this year, despite not having featured in the format for over a year and having failed to secure a spot in the 2024 T20 World Cup squad. He was reinstated as the vice-captain, with his return costing an in-form Sanju Samson a secure place in the line-up. Over the next four months, he featured in every T20I match for India, with the management reportedly giving him a free run and assurance. But the 25-year-old managed just 291 runs in 15 innings without a single fifty.

After a poor run of form in the recent T20I home series against South Africa, where he put up scores of 4, 0 and 28 in the first three games, the selectors pulled the plug and went back to their previous strategy of having Samson as the top-order option.

According to a PTI report, Gill's exclusion from the T20 World Cup squad "had Gambhir's footprints written all over it." It also added that the decision triggered a sense of uncertainty among players, who now believe "if Indian cricket's next poster boy could be dumped by the wayside, the next omission number could have anyone's name written on it."

The report also cited that under Gambhir's regime, the Indian dressing room is a "confused arena with a lot of players not exactly feeling secure," as they used to feel under Rahul Dravid. Under the latter's three-year tenure, not only were the roles defined, but players also got a long rope to prove their mettle.

The upcoming T20 World Cup, which is set to begin in six weeks, will be a crucial tournament for Gambhir. Despite India having shown their dominance in white-ball cricket, having won the Champions Trophy in the ODI format and the men's T20 Asia Cup this year, a poor run of form in Test cricket, which includes two whitewashes on home soil, has left an uncertainty over his future as a coach of the red-ball team.

The report added that the BCCI will have enough time to take a call if India fail to match the expectations in the T20 World Cup. "People who have the last word in the BCCI will have enough time to take an informed call about split coaching or having a single coach across formats, after analysing India's performance at the global meet," it read.