Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif slammed the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee after the T20 World Cup 2026 squad was announced. Kaif criticized their planning and expressed disappointment over the BCCI’s lack of clarity.
In a shocking development, Shubman Gill has been left out of the T20I squad for the T20 World Cup. The move came after Gill’s dip in form. Since his return in September, he has scored just 291 runs without any half-centuries.
Kaif slams the selectors
The selectors have abandoned their dream of Shubman Gill following his poor performance in the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif hit hard on the selection committee. According to him, bringing Gill back in the shortest format was not necessary. “They knew there were better players, I am talking about the T20 format. Just this one. There were better players than Gill. So it was the selectors’ mistake. They made a mistake and Indian cricket fell behind. For two to three months, you could have invested in Jaiswal, Samson and Jitesh,” he said.
Axar loses crucial leadership time
Kaif added that this puts Axar Patel at a disadvantage. Had Axar continued as vice-captain, he would have gotten used to the role and worked on his leadership throughout. Instead, he must resume his role without preparation.
“It’s a loss for Axar Patel who returns as vice-captain and for the Indian team as well. The team is still strong and there is no doubt about that. But if Axar had continued as vice-captain, he would have attended that team meeting and he would have had time to work on his leadership. Suppose Surya gets injured, then if Axar had those two to three months as vice-captain, he would know more about his team and the players. If he has to captain, he would have been better prepared, so this opportunity was taken away from him,” Kaif remarked.
“The schedule sucks”
Kaif said dropping Gill was the right decision, but it came too late. Staying with an unprepared player wasted valuable time and took away chances from other players.
“You carried Gill until the very end and then you dropped him. I think it was the right decision. It came late, but it was right. The planning is rubbish. There is no planning. It was a waste of time in the name of planning. You backed this player who is not ready now. There were better players than him who should have played. It was your mistake as selectors. Now you had no other choice than to remove him. It happened very rarely There was no option left as he didn’t score 17-18 innings, and how many more chances would you give him The pressure was increasing, but I think it was a waste of time for Indian cricket and for the players who should have been given the opportunity.
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