India, Jan. 6 -- Heading into the second half of 2025, Shubman Gill was on top of the cricket world. Newly named the captain of India's Test and ODI teams, brought into the T20I team as vice-captain with a clear succession plan in mind. 754 runs in the Test series in England as a rookie captain, 650 runs in the IPL, opening the batting as India won the ICC Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup in two different formats.

But suddenly, the shine was lost as the calendar flipped into 2026. Gill ended the year battling an injury as India lost the home Test series to South Africa, and a run of bad form in the shortest format saw him lose his spot in the squad leading into this year's home T20 World Cup. Gill's stocks have definitely dipped in the ...