'He has proven what a class performer he is' - Dilip Vengsarkar names batter who should have replaced Shubman Gill in India's T20 World Cup squad

Former BCCI chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar believes that Yashasvi Jaiswal deserved a place in India's squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup after performing consistently in recent months. Interestingly, Yashasvi was a part of the Indian team which lifted the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2024. However, he didn't get a game, with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma opening the batting.

He has not played a T20I for India since July 2024. However, many fans and experts feel that he is the ideal candidate to open the batting alongside Abhishek Sharma.

In India's T20 World Cup squad for the upcoming edition, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee picked Ishan Kishan as the backup opener, with Gill making way after dismal performances in the Asia Cup and in series against Australia and South Africa. Sanju Samson and Abhishek are expected to open the batting for the Men in Blue once the marquee event commences.

"They are all excellent players, but I am with selection committee when they judge players on the basis of current form and fitness. Current form does play an important role in the context of selection. And if you ask whom I would have picked instead of Gill, my choice would have been Jaiswal. He has proven time and again what a class performer he is and has always given the team the kind of starts required these days," Vengsarkar was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.

I don't know what else he has to do to get into the team: Vengsarkar

Vengsarkar mentioned that Jaiswal has done well across formats for India, and said that he is unaware of what else the Mumbai batter needs to do to get picked in the national team's T20 setup.

"It is unfortunate that Yashasvi is being left out time and again for no fault of his. He has been in tremendous form across all formats of the game, and I don't know what else he has to do to get into the team. Nobody should leave a match-winner out of the team," Vengsarkar said.