Aakash Chopra Says Yashasvi Jaiswal Should Have Been Picked Ahead of Shubman Gill

Aakash Chopra opined that Yashasvi Jaiswal should have been India’s first-choice T20 opener and questioned the selectors’ decision to back Shubman Gill before dropping him from the 2026 World Cup squad.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra questioned India’s T20 selection calls after Shubman Gill missed the T20 World Cup 2026 squad. He said Yashasvi Jaiswal was the more logical choice based on T20 impact and past performances, and pointed out that Jaiswal featured in the 2024 T20 World Cup squad.

Chopra then noted that a heavy Test schedule pushed Jaiswal out of T20 plans. During that period, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson opened successfully. Then, the opening slots appeared settled. However, the selectors later turned to Gill, which complicated the choices.

“The way Yashasvi Jaiswal plays, logically, he should come in the team first, and he was there. He was part of the team in the 2024 T20 World Cup. He didn’t get a chance to play for a simple reason that there was no place. He even scored a century when he played before that. His name is there among the six Indians to have scored centuries in all formats,” Chopra said.

“However, there were a lot of Tests after that, and he wasn’t picked for T20s. It was believed that Yashasvi was ahead in the pecking order. In the interim, Abhishek and Sanju opened and did well, and suddenly you realize there is no place. After that, when the question of another opener came, India went with Shubman Gill,” he continued.

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“They not only went with him, but they also made him the vice-captain, which means he cannot be dropped. I had picked Yashasvi in the Asia Cup team I had picked. However, Shubman became the vice-captain, and the rest, as they say, is history. So Yashasvi, who was actually a frontrunner, was forgotten,” Chopra added.

Despite the debate, India will open at the 2026 T20 World Cup with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. Ishan Kishan offers cover as an opener and backup keeper. The middle order features established names as India defends their title under Suryakumar Yadav.

India squad for T20 World Cup 2026

Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh