India’s ODI and Test captain Shubman Gill faced a late snub from the T20 World Cup 2026 squad owing to his lack of runs of late. While Gill was ruled out of last two T20Is against South Africa due to a foot injury, he has been named in Punjab’s 18-man squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. The squad also features Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh.
Punjab will begin their Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 campaign against Ruturaj Gaikwad's Maharashtra on December 24. However, it is not clear whether Gill will be available for all seven group stage games. Punjab's last group stage clash is against Mumbai, a few days ahead of the three-ODI series against New Zealand which commences on January 11.
Meanwhile, Punjab are yet to announce who will captain the side in the tournament. Abhishek captained Punjab in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025 before leaving for national duties. Then, Prabhsimran Singh took over.
If Punjab make it past the group stage, Gill and Arshdeep Singh will be unavailable as they will play in the ODI series against New Zealand. The five-T20I series against the Kiwis is scheduled to begin on January 21. Gill’s batting partner Abhishek may be leading the side, hoping for their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title.
Punjab's Vijay Hazare Trophy squad
Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Harnoor Pannu, Anmolpreet Singh, Uday Saharan, Naman Dhir, Salil Arora (wk), Sanvir Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Harpreet Brar, Raghu Sharma, Krish Bhagat, Gourav Choudhary, Sukhdeep Bajwa.
How Punjab fared in previous Vijay Hazare Trophy?
In the last season, Punjab won six out of seven games at group stage and made it to the quarterfinals. In the quarter-final, they faced a 70-run defeat at the hands of Gaikwad's Maharashtra.
Despite the exit in knockout round, Punjab had plenty of positives. Prabhsimran (498 runs) and Abhishek (467 runs) were among the top run-scorers. Despite playing just seven games, Prabhsimran finished the tournament as highest wicket-taker. The left-arm pacer claimed 20 wickets at 18.25 apiece, featuring a fifer and two four-fers.