Shubman Gill will return 'better, stronger' after T20 World Cup snub: Gujarat Titans COO

Kolkata, Jan 15 (PTI) Shubman Gill's omission from India's T20 World Cup squad is merely "one of the hiccups" that occur in every elite sportsperson's career and the India Test and ODI skipper will return a "better, stronger" cricketer, Gujarat Titans chief operating officer Colonel Arvinder Singh said on Thursday.

Gill, who was vice-captain of the T20I side, was the most high-profile absentee when the national selectors named a 15-member squad for the global showpiece in India and Sri Lanka starting February 7.

Singh said the GT skipper had accepted the decision with maturity and would respond in the only way he knows -- by performing.

"These are minor hiccups that do happen in any sportsman's life. He's already made his stand very clear," Singh told PTI in a virtual interaction on the sidelines of the launch of the third edition of Junior Titans programme.

"He respects the decision of the selectors. And all I can say is, knowing him, he'll come back even stronger as you can see now in the two games that he's played. He'll come back even a better cricketer than what he was you know, going forward." Gill has scored 869 runs in 36 T20Is but managed just 291 runs in his last 15 matches, prompting the selectors to revert to Sanju Samson at the top of the order.

Gill made his way back into India's T20I set-up ahead of the Asia Cup to provide stability to an aggressive batting unit, replacing Samson.

However, the move disrupted India's free-flowing style and eventually backfired, prompting the selectors to drop the experiment before the T20 World Cup.

But Singh said there's "no doubt" about Gill's credentials.

"I don't think anybody has any doubt about his credentials as far as him being a cricketer is concerned. He is a very, very mentally strong sportsman." "On a personal basis, I can share with you that he's very, very strong when it comes from a mental standpoint.

"As far as his talent and his skill goes, I don't think I'm the right guy to talk about it. The whole world knows how talented Subhman is and what he's done both for us as well as for the country." Sai to be fit before IPL ================ The GT COO also dismissed concerns over Sai Sudharsan's rib injury, saying the Tamil Nadu batter would be fully fit for the IPL and that it was more of an abrasion than a serious fracture.

"Sai will be absolutely fit. It's nothing serious... It's an abrasion how they describe it in medical terms. It's not a full-fledged fracture," he said.

The Tamil Nadu batter missed the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy matches and reported at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru on December 29.

On Sherfane Rutherford's trade to Mumbai Indians, Singh said the decision was part of Gujarat Titans' broader team-building philosophy, in which individual players were secondary to overall balance, composition and auction strategy.

'GT functions in a slightly different manner. We take care of what the team is going to look like, what the composition of the team is going to be, what skill sets you are looking at." "If the coaching staff has taken a decision that we could let go of Sherfane... we wish him all the best, but GT is not a franchise that looks after only individuals." PTI TAP TAP AH AH