Cricket Asia Cup: Gill Returns as the Vice-Captain

Test skipper Shubman Gill’s return to vice-captaincy in T20Is was the only major decision the national selectors took while announcing the squad for the Asia Cup on Tuesday, as the wise men chose not to tinker much with a successful combination.

While most members of the squad for the continental bash—due to be held in the United Arab Emirates from September 9–28—picked themselves, the major point of deliberation was: Would Gill return to T20Is and, if so, would he replace Axar Patel as the vice-captain?

Well, both those questions were answered with an emphatic ‘yes’ by the selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar. Gill, who last played a T20I in the bilateral series in Sri Lanka where he was the deputy to Suryakumar Yadav, has been in impressive form since the IPL, and the selectors just couldn’t ignore the current superstar of Indian cricket.

However, his return will force a change in a settled batting order. Gujarat Titans’ captain Gill scored 650 runs in this season’s IPL, and he carried that blistering form to England in the five-Test series where he hammered four centuries en route to amassing a record 754 runs.

“The last time when he played T20Is for India, post the T20 World Cup (2024), when we went to Sri Lanka (in July 2024), not the tour of Zimbabwe. I was leading then and he was the vice-captain and that’s when we started a new cycle for the next T20 World Cup,” said skipper Suryakumar at a press conference at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.“After that he got busy with all the Test series at home. He did not get the opportunity to play T20 cricket because he got busy playing Test cricket and also the Champions Trophy. He is there in the squad now and we are happy to have him,” he added.

With Gill’s return, the management has a tough decision to make in figuring out who opens with the Punjabi. During Gill’s absence, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson racked up runs in blistering fashion, and forcing one of them to drop down the order could be a hard call. Another option is to play Gill at one-drop, which would mean sacrificing the talented Tilak Varma, who scored two back-to-back unbeaten centuries in the series against South Africa last November.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar welcomed the selection headache, saying it’s Suryakumar and head coach Gautam Gambhir’s problem to solve:

“There are more options for the top order now and Shubman has been in great form anyway. When they get to Dubai, they can decide on the playing XI according to the opposition and the conditions. It’s their headache to pick the batting line-up, ours was to pick the 15.”

Beyond Gill, there weren’t any major surprises, barring the inclusion of lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah. While there wasn’t much doubt about his place in the squad—considering the tournament is a major build-up event on the road to the T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka early next year—the only point of concern was his workload.

“We have had a nice break from the England series. We are trying to look after him. Most fast bowlers are monitored and it won’t change. How we require him for future tournaments is also important,” said Agarkar when asked about Bumrah’s workload management.