India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad announcement on Tuesday confirmed Shubman Gill’s return as vice-captain under skipper Suryakumar Yadav. The eight-team tournament begins on September 9 in the UAE, with the final scheduled for September 28.
Addressing the media, Suryakumar recalled that Gill was vice-captain during India’s T20I series in Sri Lanka after the T20 World Cup 2024. He clarified that Gill’s absence since then was due to his Test commitments and the Champions Trophy.
“In my opinion, the last time Shubman Gill played T20Is for India was when we toured Sri Lanka. After that, he was busy with Tests. We are happy to have him back. This tournament is the start of our journey towards the next World Cup,” said Suryakumar.
Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar admitted that Sanju Samson’s opportunities as opener came only because Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal were unavailable at the time. He also pointed out Abhishek Sharma’s all-round impact, making him undroppable.
Gill’s selection follows a stellar IPL 2025 season, where he scored 650 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 155.87, leading Gujarat Titans into the playoffs. In T20Is, he has 578 runs from 21 matches, including a century and three fifties.
The Asia Cup squad excludes Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal from the main team, though Jaiswal is among the five standbys. India will face West Indies in a Test series starting October 2, just three days after the Asia Cup final.
India Asia Cup 2025 Squad:
Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Standbys: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel.
