The BCCI selection committee chief, Ajit Agarkar, announced the 15-member Team India squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 tournament on August 19. One of the biggest surprises was that Shubman Gill was included in the squad ahead of Yashasvi Jaiswal and was named the vice-captain as well.
This indicates that the 25-year-old, who now serves as Test captain, is getting ready to lead India as an all-format captain soon, according to former India player Aakash Chopra.
“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 and 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 in a video on X.
However, the player-turned-commentator stated that Gill's participation in the squad as captain Suryakumar Yadav's deputy meant that his spot in the starting lineup was certain, and if Gill opened, Sanju Samson would most likely be left out.
“If he’s the vice-captain, he’ll play. He’s also likely to open. And if he opens, who will miss out? Sanju Samson might miss out on his place in the playing XI. This is the reason Jitesh Sharma’s name is in the team. Because you need a middle-order keeper-batter. So Jitesh has been rewarded for his wonderful performance in the IPL for RCB,” he said.
Further analysing the Indian squad, Aakash Chopra also shared thoughts on Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion despite a stellar IPL 2025 campaign with the PBKS side. He also added that it was unfair for Axar Patel to lose India’s vice-captaincy despite doing well.
“There is no place for Shreyas Iyer. What does it mean? The reason might be that the team was selected based on slots. Tilak is at 3, Surya is at 4, Axar is at 5, and Hardik is at 6, so when Iyer did not fit into this combination, he was excluded. He did everything right, but they couldn’t find a place for him according to the slots.
I also feel that it was a little unfair to Axar that he is suddenly not the vice-captain anymore. But that’s my opinion. The team looks fine, though,” he said.
India will open its Asia Cup 2025 on September 10 against the UAE.
