Shubman Gill's fate wasn't actually sealed on Saturday when BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia announced the squad for the T20 World Cup but when the fourth T20 International was called off on Wednesday due to thick smog.
That was the day it was decided that Gill won't be picked for the T20 World Cup but till Saturday morning, India's two-format captain was neither intimated by the chairman of selectors nor did captain Suryakumar Yadav or head coach Gautam Gambhir informed him, according to a BCCI source.
While the skipper, whose record for the past one year has been very poor, has got a reprieve, it's natural that Gill may start feeling let down and slightly disrespected in the manner in which he was ruthlessly disposed.
The moment news spread that Gill has injured his toe while batting, one knew that something was amiss and that the team management, headlined by Gambhir and Suryakumar, has moved on as far as Gill's place was concerned.
If BCCI sources are to be believed the team management had already decided to chuck the vice-captain out when in fact he wanted to play the Ahmedabad game as the injury wasn't that serious.
That was the first sign of creating an exit route for the under-performing Indian vice-captain, who had scored a total of 32 runs in the three games against South Africa.
Initially, the medical team was fearing a hairline fracture but later scans revealed that it was mere bruise and he could have played the Ahmedabad game on painkillers.
If one watched or listened to chairman of selectors Agarkar, he didn't seem too convinced with this decision as he has been at the forefront of looking at the Punjab man as India's potential all-format leader.
"We know what a quality player he is, but, perhaps short of a little bit of runs at the moment," Agarkar said at the press conference for India's squad announcement.
"(He was) unfortunate to miss out on the last World Cup as well because, you know, we went to a different combination. But it's the combinations more than anything else. Two keepers at the top, that's the way we want to try. Someone has to miss out when you pick (squad of)15 and, unfortunately, it's Gill at this point," he added.