“A player always believes he will try his best for the country” - Shubman Gill breaks silence on his T20 World Cup snub

Indian ODI captain Shubman Gill has finally opened up on his exclusion from the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 squad. Ahead of India's first ODI match against New Zealand on Sunday, January 11, captain Gill stated that he respects the selectors' decision and wished the team luck for the showpiece event, scheduled to start on Saturday, February 7, in India and Sri Lanka.

"I respect the selectors' decision. All the best to the team for the T20 World Cup. I am where I have to be and whatever is written in my destiny no one can take that from me. A player always believes he will try his best for the country and the selectors have taken their decision," he told the reporters.

India is all set to play a total of three ODIs followed by three T20Is ahead of the T20 World Cup. Gill is returning to the ODI format after missing out on the ODI series against South Africa due to a neck injury sustained on the second day of the opening Test in Kolkata.

"The last time we played ODIs against New Zealand, I made my debut and I always cherish that. I don't think any format is easy, if you look at it, the Indian team hasn't won an ODI World Cup since 2011. It's easy to say but no format is easy and it requires a lot of effort and determination," he added.

"It's never easy to miss out and watching the team play. There are so many things you want to do as captain and you need to have a momentum and build on that. In the last two Test series, we did not have enough time to prepare... If we had won against South Africa, it wouldn't have made a lot of difference and preparation for me is a big thing. We did not have enough time before South Africa and the West Indies series at home,” he noted.

"Good to have some time to prepare when going from white ball to red ball," Gill concluded.

For the unversed, it will be the first time that the new Baroda Cricket Association Stadium in Kotambi will host a men's international encounter. 

India’s ODI squad for New Zealand series: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

New Zealand ODI squad for India tour: Michael Bracewell (c), Adi Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway (wk), Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay (wk), Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae, Will Young.

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