Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill are the two most trending names after India's squad for T20 World Cup 2026 was selected on Saturday (December 20). However, the reasons for this aren't on expected lines. Gill, to the surprise of the fans and pundits, was dropped from the squad altogether despite being the vice-captain till the South Africa series.
While Gill's omission is shocking and surprising, it is also arguably the right call from the selectors and head coach Gambhir who has always believed in the philosophy of 'team above individual', even if the player happens to the vice-captain. While the selection panel headed by Ajit Agarkar are equally influential, Gambhir also seemingly had a say in Gill's exclusion.
It's very rare that an Indian vice-captain is dropped altogether from the World Cup squad with barely two months left for the tournament. Meanwhile, an old video of Gautam Gambhir has gone viral again after Gill's exclusion. In this interview, Gambhir is seen talking about losing vice-captaincy to Virat Kohli after the 2011-12 tour of Australia where India endured poor results.
I think right squad is selected but that doesn't make this any less funny pic.twitter.com/ZaGiqYVWcq
— Amit Dubey (@AmitHellboyz143) December 20, 2025
Usually, it is the captain that bears the brunt of a team's defeats but the then captain MS Dhoni retained his position and it was Gambhir who made way for Kohli. It was a decision that ultimately cost Gambhir the coveted post of India captaincy as he was soon dropped from the team. Understandably, it is a moment that still haunts and angers him, and Gambhir is seen speaking about the incident.
"If anything changed after the CB series (in Australia) to the tour of Bangladesh, it was only one thing. The vice-captain got changed and Virat Kohli was given the role," says Gambhir in this old interview to The Lallantop in 2019.
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"Till today, in the history of India or in any sport, tell me one thing - has it ever happened before that a team is not doing well and only the vice-captain is changed while the captain remains the same?"
Coincidentally, skipper Suryakumar Yadav managed to retain his captaincy and spot in the World Cup squad despite having a worse year than Gill. The India captain batted 19 times in T20Is this year without a single fifty to his name. That this incident has happened under Gambhir's coaching regime makes this old video to have a ironic boomerang effect.
