Asia Cup 2025 | Shubman Gill returns as the vice-captain

Bengaluru: 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 ​h​as 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 top order) now and Shubman has been in a 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.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Jitesh Sharma was rewarded for his impressive performances in the IPL where he produced some game-changing knocks lower down the order that​ ​w​ere instrumental in the franchise lifting the coveted trophy for the first time. He was picked as the second wicketkeeper, the 31-year-old pipping Dhruv Jurel.

There was a buzz that Shreyas Iyer, who was in phenomenal form for Punjab Kings this IPL, may return owing to his adeptness at playing spin on the slower tracks of the UAE. But the stylish batter had to miss the bus owing to an abundance of talent.

Karnataka’s Prasidh Krishna, who won the Purple Cap for most wickets (25) this IPL, was named as standby with Harshit Rana edging him for the third specialist seamer’s slot.

India are placed along with arch-rivals Pakistan, Oman and UAE in Pool A.

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel.