Legendary Indian cricket team batter Sunil Gavaskar backed the decision to appoint Shubman Gill as the vice-captain for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. Amid raging debates over his spot in the squad, the BCCI showed huge support by making Gill the deputy to skipper Suryakumar Yadav. Gavaskar believes that it was a good decision considering Gill’s stunning form in the Test series against England and added that this puts him on course to become India’s all-format captain in the near future.
“He scored over 750 runs just a couple of weeks ago. You cannot exclude a player in that kind of form. Giving him the vice-captaincy is also a way of telling him that in the future, he could be leading the T20 side. I think it’s a very, very good selection,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“He was very impressive in England as well. To score 750-plus runs while leading the side for the first time shows how well he handled pressure. This vice-captaincy is a clear sign that he is destined to lead India in the future,” he added.
Gill played his last T20I in July 2024 against Sri Lanka, and his return to the shortest format hints at India’s plans to unveil him as an all-format player after his leadership elevation on the England tour. Suryakumar Yadav will continue to lead the side in the T20Is.
The other notable inclusions in the squad were pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who both return to the T20I side after last year’s T20 World Cup title in Barbados.
Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the standbys for India’s Asia Cup squad, said chief selector Ajit Agarkar in the press conference at BCCI headquarters.
Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, and Rinku Singh have retained their place in the squad that featured in the five-match T20I series against England earlier this year.
The eight-team Asia Cup T20I tournament will be staged in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from September 9 to 28. Defending champions India are placed in Group ‘A’ alongside Pakistan, Oman and the UAE.
The Men in Blue will start their campaign against the UAE on September 10 before the blockbuster clash against archrivals Pakistan on September 14.
India are scheduled to play 15 T20I games after the continental tournament in the build-up to next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in February.
India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Standby: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
(With IANS inputs)