Former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin questioned the selectors for not picking Shubman Gill for the upcoming UK tour, where India would play seven T20Is. Gill was in solid form while leading Gujarat Titans to the final in IPL 2026, scoring 732 runs in 16 games.

Furthermore, he scored a fine century in the one-off Test match against Afghanistan at New Chandigarh. In the first two ODIs against the visitors, Gill returned with impressive scores of 84* and 154 runs and has continued his rich vein of form.

“Gill is handling (the captaincy job) very well. His individual performance has also improved a lot. He is one of the finest players; I don’t know why they don’t select him for T20s,” Azharuddin told PTI in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

“He is a good player for all formats and should never have been dropped from any format,” he added.

Azharuddin questioned Auqib Nabi Dar’s omission from India’s Test team after the Jammu and Kashmir pacer had a dream run in the previous Ranji Trophy season. The former Indian skipper also questioned Safaraz Khan’s absence from the Test team.

“Auqib Nabi is a great red-ball bowler. He is a very good exponent of swing bowling. I feel very sad for him. Nabi, after taking wickets in almost the last two years (44 wickets in 2024-25, 60 in 2025-26 in the Ranji Trophy), still does not find a place in the Test team. It is very disappointing,” Azhar said.

“These boys have consistently done well in domestic cricket. Everybody says that we have to play domestic cricket. But what is the use of playing domestic cricket (when) their performances are not being recognised?” Azharuddin continued, “What is the use of… when their age runs out, then you give them a chance to perform. Nabi is not a very good T20 bowler, so you must understand and recognise that he is good for Test cricket.”

The third and final ODI between India and Afghanistan will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Saturday.