 "Shubman Gill is Team India's new vice-captain in the T20Is as he makes a return. Image: PTI")
Shubman Gill was named the vice-captain and Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav made a return as India’s 15-member squad for the Asia Cup 2025 , which starts on 9 September in the United Arab Emirates, and was picked at the BCCI headquarters on Tuesday (19 August). The selection meeting was attended by India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, besides the national selectors.
The squad was announced during a press conference after the meeting, which was attended by captain Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
India’s squad for the Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Standbys: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar and Prasidh Krishna.
SKY explains Gill’s T20I return
Explaining Gill’s inclusion and his return to the T20I side after July 2024, captain Suryakumar said that the vice-captain was always in the scheme of things, but he got busy with Tests and the Champions Trophy.
“Last time when he played T20 post World Cup, when we went to Sri Lanka, he was vice-captain. That’s where we started new cycle for T20 World Cup. After that we got busy with Test cricket, and he didn’t get opportunities. We’re happy to have him,” SKY said.
Due to Gill’s elevation, Axar Patel has lost the vice-captaincy, but he has retained his place in the squad.
With Bumrah and Kuldeep making a comeback, Mohammed Shami and Ravi Bishnoi were dropped. Shami was always expected to be dropped as he had not been fully fit recently.
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View AllWicket-keeper Dhuv Jurel, who was part of the T20I squad against England in January-February, has been replaced by Jitesh Sharma, who did well for IPL 2025 winner Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube are the two seam-bowling all-rounders as expected, while Varun Chakravarthy is the second spinner. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are two pacers besides Bumrah.
No place for Iyer, Jaiswal in India T20I squad
Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal did not make it to the main squad despite being in the reckoning after another good IPL season, but Rinku Singh has retained his place as a finisher.
With Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson still part of the squad, it will be interesting to see whether Gill will open or bat at the No.3 spot, which belongs to Tilak Varma.
Under Suryakumar’s leadership, India will aim to defend the Asia Cup crown, which they won last time in 2023. The previous edition was played in the ODI format, but the 2025 tournament will be a T20I affair, considering the next World Cup will also be played in the shortest format next year.