The selection of India’s squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 has ignited fierce debate, with former India captain and ex-chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar delivering a bold statement. Vengsarkar feels that Yashasvi Jaiswal has been treated unfairly despite performing well whenever he has played.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has often found himself pushed aside due to the presence of senior stars like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, while Shubman Gill was preferred ahead of him lately in the T20I cricket.
Now, with the Indian cricket team looking for an extra wicketkeeper who can also open the innings, Yashasvi Jaiswal has again missed out, this time losing his spot to Ishan Kishan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 squad.
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Yashasvi Jaiswal Should’ve Picked in India’s T20 World Cup 2026 Squad: Ex-Selector’s Blunt Take
This means the left-handed opener will also miss the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand. Even in the upcoming ODIs, Gill’s return as the India captain meant Jaiswal had to sit out despite proving his class across formats.
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In a blunt assessment, Vengsarkar has questioned the decision to omit Jaiswal from India’s T20I side, suggesting he should have replaced Shubman Gill in the squad. The young opener last played T20Is in July 2024 during the Sri Lanka tour, as Jaiswal was asked to concentrate on red-ball cricket.
Despite being away from T20Is, his recent numbers remain impressive. The young explosive batter’s last five T20I scores are 93, 12, 40, 30, and 10, all at the top of the order, and he has scored at a strike rate close to 200, which perfectly fits India’s aggressive T20 style.
Dilip Vengsarkar’s Blast: “Why Leave Out a Match Winner?
Vengsarkar feels that leaving out a proven match-winner again and again can damage a player’s confidence. In T20 cricket, rhythm is very important, and long gaps away from the format can make things difficult. While other players continued to play white-ball series and stayed in the selectors’ view, Jaiswal slowly slipped out because the system pushed him in another direction.
Dilip Vengsarkar was quoted as saying by PTI: “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.”
The former icon further explained, “You are bound to lose confidence if you are made to feel that you are not required in one format. I mean it will affect his confidence and this game is all about confidence. And confidence comes when you have performances backed by runs.”
I wouldn’t have dropped Yashasvi Jaiswal: Dilip Vengsarkar slams Ajit Agarkar
Meanwhile, the former Indian coach WV Raman believes that there must have been discussions between the selectors and Yashasvi Jaiswal behind the scenes. However, Raman feels that Jaiswal’s talent is too big to be ignored for long and that he will get more chances on the world stage.
Raman stated, “Certain conversations can’t be revealed in public but now World T20 squad has been selected and one can’t do anything. Jaiswal will have to bide his time but I am confident that the kind of talent he is, he will play many more World Cups.”
However, Vengsarkar has insisted that if he were in charge, Yashasvi Jaiswal would never have been dropped at all. He signed off by saying, “I wouldn’t have told him anything because I wouldn’t have dropped him in the first place.”
