Mumbai, Aug 19 (PTI) Test skipper Shubman Gill has been selected as India's T20 vice-captain for the upcoming Asia Cup, which will see Jasprit Bumrah enhance the team's bowling lineup, although IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer did not make the team amidst a surplus of talent in the T20 format.
The 25-year-old Gill last played a T20 International against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in 2024. Now, he steps in as deputy to captain Suryakumar Yadav, replacing Axar Patel in the 15-member squad.
The Asia Cup kicks off on September 9, with India placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, Oman, and the UAE.
Gill's selection came as no shock, given his outstanding performance in the recent Test series against England where he scored four centuries in the drawn five-match series.
"Gill's form in England was something we expected but he exceeded it all," chief selector Ajit Agarkar commented during the squad announcement press conference.
Despite Gill’s exceptional form, the management faces a challenge with his batting position due to the effective partnership at the top order between Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.
"There are more options (for the 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," said Agarkar, a former India pacer.
The team could consider shifting Samson to the middle-order, a role he has previously filled, giving Gill the opening slot. Agarkar indicated this is a possible option.
"Sanju was playing because Shubman and Yashasvi were not available at that point (and) so was Abhishek. (But) Abhishek's performances clearly make it hard to leave him out. Plus, his bowling is handy," Agarkar stated.
"Like I said, he (Shubman) was (the) vice-captain the last time he played T20 cricket. That was after the last World Cup so even at that point, clearly we were thinking along those lines. Now that he's available, at least he (Suryakumar) has two options. It’s their headache to pick the batting lineup (now); ours was to pick the 15."
Bumrah Returns
There were concerns about Bumrah's availability due to the proximity of the Asia Cup to the home Test series against the West Indies in October.
The Asia Cup final is scheduled for September 28 in Dubai, with the first Test against the Caribbeans commencing on October 2 in Ahmedabad. Despite this, the selectors decided to include him, marking his first T20 tournament since the previous year's World Cup.
Considering Bumrah's workload management, he played only three matches in the five-match series against England recently. However, Agarkar emphasized no strict guidelines are set for managing the pacer.
"There's no written plan at the moment. We have had a nice break from the England series. We are trying to look after him," Agarkar mentioned.
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav is also included, with Jitesh Sharma as the back-up wicketkeeper batter.
"The way he did in the IPL...it was impressive. We discussed not focusing on the milestones," noted Agarkar, referring to Jitesh Sharma’s performance in the IPL 2025.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was named among the five standby players. The others are Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel.
"It's unfortunate that Jaiswal has had to miss out but he will have to wait as what Abhishek Sharma has done on the top of the order cannot be looked past," Agarkar explained.
Sundar, who was expected to make the top fifteen due to head coach Gautam Gambhir's preference for all-rounders, was left out for the performances of Kuldeep and Varun Chakravarthy. However, Sundar remains in consideration for the World Cup squad.
"Sundar is always in the scheme of things. This is not the final squad for the World Cup. We have three spinners at the moment, whether we need four can always come into the equation," Agarkar clarified.
The duty of all-rounder will be divided among Hardik Pandya, Axar, and Shivam Dube.
No Place for Shreyas
Notably absent from the squad is Shreyas Iyer, despite his outstanding form leading Punjab Kings to the IPL final and previously guiding Kolkata Knight Riders to a trophy.
Agarkar cited the excess of talent in the T20 format making it tough to include Shreyas.
"We have got some serious options in the T20 squad...sometimes not the easiest squad to pick but good headache to have," Agarkar commented.
India squad for Asia Cup:
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.
Standbys: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
