Picture Credit: X
On Tuesday, August 19, the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar along with the Indian T20I skipper - Suryakumar Yadav, announced their 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. The continental tournament, which will be played in T20 format, is scheduled to be held from September 9 to 28 in the UAE.
In a surprising turn of events, India’s red-ball captain - Shubman Gill was named Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy for the marquee tournament, raising several eyebrows. However this comes at a stage after Gill was seen leading the Test team to a 2-2 draw against England in the UK recently.
Is India heading towards Gill being all-format captain?: Aakash Chopra on Shubman’s appointment as VC
This move of Shubman Gill getting named Team India’s vice-captain in the T20Is despite Axar Patel’s presence has left cricket pundits talking the selection committee’s move towards India’s new all-format captain. Among many was former India cricketer turned commentator Aakash Chopra. Taking to his YouTube channel, Chopra was also of the opinion that Gill might be India’s future all-format captain.
“Shubman Gill is the new vice-captain for India’s T20I team. What does it mean? It means that India is heading towards him being the all-format captain. He is the Test captain, will eventually be the ODI captain and if he is the vice-captain of the T20I side, that means a future captain is being prepared,” Chopra said on X.
Shubman Gill last played T20I in June 2024. He hasn’t played any match in the shortest format since then and only led Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2025, where he amassed 650 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 155.87, averaging 50.00.
India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad:
Surya Kumar 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
Reserves: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel
