The cricketer-turned-commentator thinks that Yashasvi Jaiswal would have been a better choice for the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee since he appears to be a more potential T20 hitter. Aakash Chopra has asserted that Shubman Gill, 26, should never have been the first-choice opening batsman, following the announcement of India’s 15-man roster for the T20 World Cup 2026.
While Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are predicted to perform admirably for the Indian team at the biennial event, Chopra hinted in a video posted on his official YouTube channel on Monday that if Jaiswal had been chosen to play at the top of the order, the situation of having to drop an opener (Gill) might not have arisen.
Yashasvi Jaiswal should have joined the team first because of his style of play, and he did. He participated in the T20 World Cup in 2024. For the straightforward reason that there being nowhere to play, he was denied the opportunity. Prior to that, he had even scored a century. He is one of the six Indians who have scored hundreds across all formats, according to Chopra.
But he wasn’t selected for T20s, and there were a lot of Test matches following that. Jaiswal was thought to be at the top of the hierarchy. Abhishek and Sanju opened and performed brilliantly in the interim, and then all of a sudden you realise there is nowhere. When it came time to choose another opener, India chose Shubman Gill, Chopra continued.
Chopra said that the Mumbai cricketer should have been given a longer tenure in the Men in Blue’s team for the shortest format, but that chance just fell through the cracks after Gill was appointed vice-captain.
“They not only accompanied him, but they also elevated him to the position of vice-captain, making it impossible to fire him. Jaiswal was a member of the Asia Cup squad I selected. The rest, as they say, is history, but Shubman was appointed vice-captain.
Therefore, Chopra said, “Jaiswal , who was a frontrunner, was forgotten.”
However, Abhishek and Samson will be the chosen opening partners for the Suryakumar Yadav-led team going into the World Cup. They also have someone like Ishan Kishan, who can serve as the Kerala stumper-batter’s backup wicketkeeper in addition to opening. The team will be looking to defend their title with this lineup, which includes some well-known players in the middle order.
India’s 2026 T20 World Cup squad:
Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube,.
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