Shubman Gill has returned to India’s T20I squad for the Asia Cup 2025. The selectors named him vice-captain, replacing Axar Patel. The 15-member squad, announced on Tuesday, will be led by Suryakumar Yadav. Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are the other opening options, but Gill is expected to take one of the slots at the top.

Strong batting and all-round options

The middle and lower order include Suryakumar, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, and Jitesh Sharma, who could be India’s first-choice wicketkeeper. The all-rounders are Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, and Shivam Dube. The bowling attack features Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, and Harshit Rana. Rana also adds depth with the bat.

Jaiswal and Iyer left out

Yashasvi Jaiswal did not make the main squad and was instead named among the five reserves, along with Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel. Shreyas Iyer, who scored 604 runs at a strike rate of 175 in IPL 2025 and led Punjab Kings to the final, also missed out.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained, “With regard to Yashasvi, it’s just unfortunate again. Abhishek Sharma gives us an option with both bat and ball. One of them was going to miss out, and Yashasvi just has to wait for his chance.” On Iyer’s exclusion, he said, “With regard to Shreyas, who can he replace? No fault of his, nor is it ours. At the moment, you can just pick 15.”

Gill’s strong form earns recall

Gill was India’s vice-captain in the T20I series against Sri Lanka in July 2024 but did not feature in later T20Is as India prioritized his Test and ODI workload. Axar Patel took over as deputy for the England series in January.

Gill’s return is backed by recent performances. He played a key role in India’s Champions Trophy win earlier this year and was the top run-scorer in the five-Test series in England, where India drew 2-2 in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He also scored 650 runs for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 at a strike rate of 155.87.

Suryakumar noted, “Last time when Gill played T20 for India in Sri Lanka, he was the vice-captain. After that, he got busy with Test cricket and Champions Trophy. So he’s there in the squad now, and we’re happy to have him.”

India’s first T20I challenge since January

The Asia Cup marks India’s first T20I tournament since the home series against England earlier this year. India are in Group A with Pakistan, Oman, and UAE. Their campaign starts against UAE on September 10 in Dubai, followed by Pakistan on September 14 and Oman on September 19.

Looking ahead, Suryakumar said, “This is the first big tournament we are playing since the 2024 T20 World Cup. After this, there are close to 20-22 T20s before the 2026 World Cup. I think the journey starts from the Asia Cup.”

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 Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

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

Schedule – Group Matches

• 10 September – UAE v India, Dubai

• 14 September – India v Pakistan, Dubai

• 19 September – India v Oman, Abu Dhabi

Super Fours: 20-26 September (Abu Dhabi and Dubai)
Final: 28 September (Dubai)