Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has thrown his weight behind Shubman Gill's appointment as the new ODI captain, stating that the masterful opener is poised to take on greater challenges despite being left out of India's T20I World Cup squad.
The Senior Men’s Selection Committee on 20th December 2025, picked India's squad for the upcoming T20I World Cup, with Shubman Gill missing out.
Earlier, selection committee chairperson Ajit Agarkar explained the notable call and emphasised that the conclusion was not a review of Gill’s quality, but rather the form India are keen to continue with.
“Two keepers at the top (Sanju Samson & Ishan Kishan), that's the way we want to try, and the team management will eventually decide what kind of combinations they want to play. Rinku (Singh) has come in, who gives us a little bit more depth in the lower middle order. It’s about combinations, so someone has to miss out, and unfortunately, it is Gill at this point,” Agarkar had explained in a press conference after the squad announcement.
Harbhajan believes the young cricketer will bounce back with more opportunities in the T20I format.
"Gill was bound to make a comeback. I did not doubt that there was any question about Shubman's return. I think Shubman Gill was left out solely because of the T20 format and the combination Team India wanted. Otherwise, I never had any doubt that he would not be in the ODI or Test team. So, he has returned as captain. I hope the team plays well, and India will also win this series," Harbhajan told ANI.
In the T20Is, Gill failed to impress cricket pundits after returning as vice-captain at the Asia Cup, accumulating just 291 runs in the last 15 innings without a half-century since his comeback.
Harbhajan also labelled India's T20 World Cup squad as a "10/10 team", stating that Gill would get his chances soon.
"The team is really good. I had told that Ajit should be given 10/10 for the team. I felt a little bad for Shubman, but he will get more chances soon. All the players are match winners in their own right. Hope we can win back-to-back World Cups because we have that team," he said.
Justifying Gill's ODI captain appointment, Harbhajan said that the decision was made with the future in mind, citing that the right-handed batter is "ready for big challenges" and will learn the art of captaincy and team management quickly.
“I think the decision has been taken keeping the future in mind. Sometimes you do feel things have been done quickly. But I think he is ready for this job. This is a high-demand job; he is young. The sooner he learns the art of captaincy and team management, the better the results will be. That England Test series was one of the finest I have ever seen. Scoring so many runs and leading from the front shows that he has worked harder than anybody else. Whatever I know of Shubman, he is ready for big challenges,” he added.
India's T20 World Cup Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.