India, Jan. 4 -- Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was left "surprised" upon hearing about Shubman Gill's exclusion from India's T20 World Cup squad. The 26-year-old, who was parachuted as the vice-captain into the T20I scheme of things in September 2025 with the Asia Cup, failed to set the stage on fire, not even hitting a single fifty in the 15 matches he played, with his highest score being 47. The poor run of form and an under-par strike rate forced the hand of the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee, and in the end, India's Test and ODI captain was shown the door.

Ever since Gill returned to the playing XI, and as the vice-captain, the social media chatter was against him, as the public opinion turned against the batter from P...