Gill, who is also India’s Test captain, returns to the T20 format after his last appearance in July 2023, signalling selectors’ vision of grooming him as a future lead across all formats.
Photo: IANS
India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav welcomed Shubman Gill’s return to the shortest format as vice-captain for the Asia Cup, starting September 9 in the UAE, and said that the continental meet will mark the start of preparations for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Gill, who is also India’s Test captain, returns to the T20 format after his last appearance in July 2023, signalling selectors’ vision of grooming him as a future lead across all formats. The 25-year-old’s inclusion in the T20 setup comes after his record-breaking run as batter in the five-Test series in England, where he scored 754 runs to lead India to a 2-2 draw in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He also had a productive IPL 2025, scoring 650 runs for Gujarat Titans at a strike rate of 155.87, and was also impressive in India’s victorious ICC Champions Trophy campaign earlier in the year.
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Interestingly, Gill was the vice-captain in the previous T20I series he had played in Sri Lanka but he had not been picked in any of the subsequent series as India prioritised his appearances in the Test and ODI formats. He was not part of India’s victorious T20 World Cup campaign in the Americas last year.
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Axar was then appointed vice-captain for the home T20Is against England in January 2025..
Welcoming Gill back into the shortest format, Surya Kumar Yadav said, “Last time when he [Gill] played T20 for India, post T20 World Cup when we went to Sri Lanka – not Zimbabwe – when I was leading, he was the vice-captain.”
“So that’s where we started a new cycle. After that, he got busy with all the Test series, and he didn’t get an opportunity to play T20s because he was busy playing Test cricket and Champions Trophy. So he’s there in the squad, and we’re happy to have him,” he added.
The squad for the Asia Cup also marks the return of Jitesh Sharma as the second wicketkeeper alongside Sanju Samson, after a successful IPL season with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
“Post last T20WC, we spoke a lot on how to go about it. We spoke about let’s not think of milestones ahead, follow your journey. Been a completely different cricketer post that. The way he performed in the IPL and domestic tournaments he played, he’s done really well, has earned his spot again,” Suryakumar said.
The T20I skipper also welcomed the selection of Harshit Rana, and expressed confidence over the youngster’s abilities.
“Harshit Rana has played really well in the IPL. I think he was a concussion replacement in the Pune game, he was the man of the match in the last game he played for India. We back his skills and we know he can deliver,” he said.
With Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh in the pace department, Rana is most likely to be the back-up option.
The Asia Cup is India’s first T20I assignment since the bilateral series against England at home in January. India are in Group A, along with Pakistan, Oman and UAE. Their first game is against UAE in Dubai on September 10, after which they play Pakistan in Dubai on September 14, and Oman in Abu Dhabi on September 19.
“This is the first big tournament we are playing since the [2024] T20 World Cup,” Suryakumar said.
“We have played three-four bilateral series. It’s a good tournament to test ourselves. After this, there are a lot of T20s – close to 20-22 T20s in total – before we play our first game in the [2026] World Cup, so I think the journey starts from the Asia Cup,” he added.
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