Former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin has questioned the absence of Shubman Gill in the T20 format along with the non-selection of Sarfaraz Khan and Auqib Nabi in the Test team.
Azharuddin said Gill, who has been leading India in Tests and ODIs, has handled the captaincy role “very well” and should not have been dropped from any format.
Gill, who was India’s vice-captain in T20Is, was dropped from the squad before the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
“Gill is handling (the captaincy job) very well. His individual performance has also improved a lot. He is one of the finest players; I don’t know why they don’t select him for T20s,” Azharuddin told PTI in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
“He is a good player for all formats and should never have been dropped from any format,” he added.
Azharuddin said both Sarfaraz and Nabi have not been rewarded for their performances in domestic cricket.
“Auqib Nabi is a great red-ball bowler. He is a very good exponent of swing bowling. I feel very sad for him. Nabi, after taking wickets in almost the last two years (44 wickets in 2024-25, 60 in 2025-26 in the Ranji Trophy), still does not find a place in the Test team. It is very disappointing,” Azhar said.
“These boys have consistently done well in domestic cricket. Everybody says that we have to play domestic cricket. But what is the use of playing domestic cricket (when) their performances are not being recognised?” Azharuddin continued, “What is the use of… when their age runs out, then you give them a chance to perform. Nabi is not a very good T20 bowler, so you must understand and recognise that he is good for Test cricket.” Azharuddin said India needs to play more Test cricket.
“They need to play a lot of games because there is no cricket without Test cricket. It’s a test (in many ways), the conditions, the pitch, all those things keep changing and that is why it’s called Test cricket,” he said.
“I think the board is doing its best all the time. But we have to promote more multi-day games.” Azharuddin backed Shreyas Iyer to get even better with the India captaincy role in T20Is. “He has performed well and has got a chance deservingly. He can become a good captain,” he said.
“He has got a very good cricketing brain (and) I am sure with time, he will become a very good player (as well).” Azharuddin, however, agreed with the Indian selectors’ call to remove Suryakumar Yadav from captaincy as well as the squad even though he led the team to a record-extending third T20 World Cup win.
“You have to perform consistently because performances count a lot. A lot of young players are coming up nowadays and you can’t rely on past performances. You have to keep performing every time,” he said.
The former India skipper said retiring from international cricket should always be an individual call in case of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
“It’s a very personal thing because players need to decide when is the time to go, when he feels that he has had enough, or not. But both are very talented and they have given so much for the country,” Azharuddin said.
“A player knows exactly what is happening in his body; his mental strength (and) how his performance is (getting) affected. Both these players have given human service to the country and they should be respected,” he added.
Azharuddin questions Gill’s absence in T20 format, Sarfaraz and Nabi’s non-selection
