Alongside Gill, the selection committee on Tuesday in Mumbai named the regulars — Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson– as the other contenders for the opening role.
Photo: IANS
An in-form Shubman Gill has forced his way back into India’s T20I squad for the Asia Cup, and has replaced Axar Patel as vice-captain. However, Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal missed the cut in the 15-member squad led by Surya Kumar Yadav.
Alongside Gill, the selection committee on Tuesday in Mumbai named the regulars — Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson– as the other contenders for the opening role. However, with Gill appointed vice-captain, he is likely to be the frontrunner for one of the spots at the top of the order.
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The Asia Cup is India’s first T20I assignment since the bilateral series against England at home in January. The tournament, mainly seen as a build-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, will be entirely played in the UAE.
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India, the eight-time Asia Cup winners, are in Group A along with Pakistan, Oman, and the UAE and will begin their title defence against the UAE in Dubai on September 10, after which they play Pakistan in Dubai on September 14, and Oman in Abu Dhabi on September 19.
India’s squad for Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson
Standby: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, and Yashasvi Jaiswal
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