Gambhir sends a tough message to the selectors by passing over Rohit and Rahul to pick the “ideal” Indian combo as “permanent openers in T20Is.”

Gautam Gambhir has omitted both Rohit and Rahul from the 16-person roster chosen for the Fresh Zealand series in favour of naming a new and “ideal” India combo as the “permanent India openers in T20Is.”
Both Rohit Sharma, India’s usual captain, and KL Rahul will be absent for the next three-match T20I series against New Zealand that starts later this month. While the BCCI has not released a comment regarding Rohit’s absence—he will now miss a T20I match for the third time since the T20 World Cup—the organisation gave “family commitments” as the explanation for Rahul’s absence. Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has omitted both Rohit and Rahul from the 16-person roster chosen for the series in favour of naming a new and “ideal” India duo as the “permanent India openers in T20Is.”
For the New Zealand series, India has Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, and the returning Prithvi Shaw as starting options. The latter received his first call-up after his sole T20I outing for India, which was 537 days ago. He did, however, earn it thanks to a stellar performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season and a record-breaking triple tonne in a Ranji Trophy match that came after.
Before the third and final ODI of the India-Sri Lanka series began, Gambhir was questioned if Shaw should be given more time in the T20I format. He praised the young player for his explosive batting and called him a “match winner.”
“He shouldn’t have gone out in the first place because whenever he had the chance, he always gave India that type of a fast start. He is the best choice. He, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav all suit the model India is referring to well. Continue working with Shaw now that you’ve chosen him, advised Gambhir.
“Don’t evaluate him based on each series. He is a match-winner, a young man, and explosive. Choose him for the starting lineup and give him more time to play, he said.
He advised the young player to concentrate solely on Tests and ODIs after Gill recently made his T20Is debut and had previously played three matches for India.