Elsherbiny, who won the 2017 title as an Egyptian, would have returned to world number one with an overall victory.
Gawad will play defending champion Ali Farag in the final on Thursday after he beat his Egyptian compatriot and top seed Mostafa Saal to reach his fourth consecutive World Championship final.
ElShorbagy, a four-time losing finalist, spent 50 months at the top of the world rankings between 2014-2021.
He won 44 professional titles, putting him joint sixth on the all-time men’s winners list, before switching allegiance from Egypt in June 2022 after spending more than half of his life in England.
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