Delhi: Till a few months ago, it was believed that India has got a right and balanced team under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav. There is no need for any major changes in its structure till the T20 World Cup. The situation today is that in the desire to fit certain players, this structure has been broken and the team is looking for the right balance. The situation is that after the defeat in the second T20 International against South Africa, captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted that he and Shubman Gill, who returned to the team in this format, are failing. The biggest problem started with the fitting of Gill in the team.

Deteriorating balance of T20 team

Most experts believe that forcing him to fit is not only spoiling the team but also Shubman’s own record. If we take the year 2025 only, then even though 263 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 142+ may seem good, there is not even a single 50 in it. He was nothing more than a ‘flop show’ in improving the performance of the team. On the other hand, people like Sanju Samson and Rinku Singh are sitting on the bench. So if you have to choose a contender for Shubman’s place in the T20 team, who will you choose? Top 3 Contenders:

Ruturaj Gaikwad:

Ruturaj Gaikwad’s record in T20 since 2023 is 498 runs in 12 innings at 62.25 average and 150 strike rate. Even then no T20 International has been played for almost 17 months. Is this not injustice to his talent? Before that – 365 runs in 2023 at 147+ strike rate and 133 runs in 2024 at 158+ strike rate. On this performance, is he not a contender to play T20 International again? Whenever he has got the opportunity, he has performed well!

Sanju Samson:

While on one hand Shubman Gill scored 506 runs in 21 innings at 29.76 average and 136.02 strike rate since the T20 World Cup 2024, Sanju also scored 621 runs in 21 innings at 32.68 average and 157.61 strike rate, which also included two 50s and three 100s. Even then Shubman is the vice captain of the team while Sanju is sitting on the bench. Today the selectors can say that looking at his form, they should bring Sanju back into the team, but the point is that such a question should not have arisen and by breaking the pair of Abhishek Sharma-Sanju, they also caused loss to the team.

Yashasvi Jaiswal:

Not only Ruturaj should have been an automatic choice in T20 Team India, Yashasvi too. Yashasvi also became a victim of trying to fit Shubman Gill. Yashasvi has scored 353 runs in the last 9 T20s at 44.12 average and 167.29 strike rate. Even then the name is not in the discussion. Was in the team that won the 2024 T20 World Cup even though he did not play any matches. This does not detract from his image as one of the most exciting young players in T20 cricket. One day we have to play international matches in this format too and why is it not in the plan for T20 World Cup 2026 tournament right now?