NEW DELHI: BCCI's selection committee Ajit Agarkar acknowledged that Shubman Gill's omission from India's T20 World Cup squad was primarily due to a lack of runs and the need to settle on a stable combination going into a major tournament.

Agarkar explained that the selection panel prioritised continuity and balance, particularly at the top of the order, where they wanted a wicketkeeper-batter who could provide consistency and flexibility.

While stressing Gill's unquestioned quality as a cricketer, Agarkar pointed out that the India vice-captain had not played enough T20 cricket recently to cement his place in the shortest format.

"We're looking at continuity; we want a keeper batting at the top. We know what a quality player Shubman Gill, he wasn't playing much T20s. It's the combination more than anything else. It's more about combinations, someone has to miss out when you pick 15 and unfortunately, it's Gill at this point," Agarkar said while addressing the press conference.

It was a disappointing year for Gill in the shortest format as he managed only 291 runs across 15 innings, averaging 24.25 at a strike rate of 137.26, without registering a single fifty or century.

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-capt), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wk)