Shubman Gill, India's vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is, has stated that he aims to improve his performance in the shortest format as the team begins preparations to defend their T20 World Cup title in 2026.

"My performance in T20Is before the World Cup this year wasn't how I had expected it to be," Gill said ahead of the series opener against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. "Hopefully, going forward, in the upcoming cycle - I think we play 30-40 T20Is [before the next T20 World Cup] - I can improve my performance when it comes to batting, and also [we can improve] as a team."

Gill was a reserve player and not part of the squad that recently won the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies, where India opened with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. With both senior batters now retired from T20Is, Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who served as the backup opener at the World Cup, are now the first-choice openers for India.

"We really enjoy batting with each other. Especially the kind of shots we play, we kind of complement each other," Gill said of his partnership with Jaiswal. "Being a right-left combination, we have had good partnerships in whatever T20Is we have played before; two partnerships have been 150-plus [too]. So we have a great understanding and communication between us, and I have fun batting with him."