Gill has been named in India's T20I squad for the Asia Cup 2025 as vice-captain.
Test skipper Shubman Gill’s inclusion was the biggest highlight of the Indian T20I squad picked for the Asia Cup 2025 last month.
Despite the top-order firing through Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav himself, Gill was not only added to the squad but also named vice-captain.
The move to bring Gill back into the T20I fold and hand him a leadership role drew criticism from a certain section of fans and experts, who argue that his recall will hinder the great work done by Suryakumar since the T20 World Cup 2024 and might lead to insecurities.
However, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan reckons that Suryakumar isn’t the kind of person to get insecure.
“Shubman was the vice-captain, and then he started playing Test cricket and got busy. The decision to appoint Shubman Gill as vice-captain would not have happened without Surya’s consent. His approval was definitely there. This also means that Surya is aware of the bigger picture. As much as I know him, he's 34 now and understands that his responsibility goes beyond just performing on the field — he has to take care of the team and also help grow leadership within it. I believe he’s started doing that,” said Pathan to Sony Sports India.
“Bringing Shubman Gill in as vice-captain — while some might think it puts pressure on Surya — is actually a move that benefits Indian cricket in the long term. It also shows Surya’s maturity as a leader, earning him respect in the cricketing community. I truly believe he's very aware of the situation. What’s happening right now shouldn’t put any pressure on him. We've all seen what kind of cricketer he is in T20s. So I don’t believe there are any insecurities in his mind. If anything, this development will only strengthen him as a leader,” he added.
Shubman Gill’s inclusion marks his return to T20Is for the first time since July 2024. In the squad announcement presser, Suryakumar Yadav had justified Gill’ selection in the Asia Cup squad.
“In my opinion, the last time Shubman Gill played a T20I for India was when we went to Sri Lanka. When I was leading, he was the vice-captain. That's where we started the new cycle for the T20 World Cup. After that, he got busy with all the Test series. He didn't get an opportunity to play T20Is because he was busy with Test cricket and the Champions Trophy,” Suryakumar had told reporters.
“He is in the squad and we are happy to have him. This is the first big tournament we are playing after the T20 World Cup. We played a few bilaterals, but this is a good tournament to test ourselves. There are a lot of T20S before we play the first game of the T20 World Cup. This is where the journey starts for the tournament,” the Indian T20I captain remarked.
India will open their Asia Cup 2025 campaign against UAE at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 10.
India squad for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar 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
Stand-bys: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal