Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar backed the decision to appoint Shubman Gill as vice-captain for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. Despite ongoing debates about Gill’s place in the squad, the BCCI made a strong statement of faith by naming him deputy to skipper Suryakumar Yadav. Gavaskar praised the move, pointing to Gill’s excellent form in the recent Test series against England, and suggested that this decision could put the youngster on track 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.
Shubman Gill, who last featured in a T20I in July 2024 against Sri Lanka, makes his return to the shortest format as India look to shape him into an all-format player following his leadership role during the England tour. Suryakumar Yadav will continue to captain the side in T20Is.
The squad also sees the return of two key names — pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and spinner Kuldeep Yadav — both making their comeback to the T20I setup after India’s title-winning campaign at the T20 World Cup in Barbados last year.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar, while announcing the squad at the BCCI headquarters, also revealed the list of standby players for the Asia Cup. Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, and Yashasvi Jaiswal have been kept on standby and will be available if needed.
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’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.
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