Overview
- On Wednesday, former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin publicly questioned the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar for leaving Shubman Gill out of T20 plans and for omitting Sarfaraz Khan and Auqib Nabi from recent Test squads.
- Azharuddin praised Gill’s leadership in Tests and ODIs and said Gill should not have been dropped from T20s despite a prolonged short‑form lean and a strong IPL 2026 showing.
- Azharuddin cited Auqib Nabi’s reported Ranji Trophy returns of about 44 wickets in 2024–25 and 60 in 2025–26 as evidence that domestic red‑ball performers are being overlooked for Test selection.
- He endorsed the appointment of Shreyas Iyer as the new T20I captain and agreed with removing Suryakumar Yadav from the T20 setup, saying current form must guide selection decisions.
- The dispute has sharpened attention on the selectors’ format priorities and transparency and has prompted calls for more Test opportunities to preserve domestic pathways and reward consistent Ranji performances.