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 selectors’ decision to bring Gill back into the T20I fold and hand him a leadership role divided opinions among the fans and experts.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, former cricketer Robin Uthappa offered a blunt take on the selection call, claiming that the selectors have created an issue for themselves by recalling Gill.
The move came after the 25-year-old led India to 2-2 draw on the tour of England, in what was his maiden assignment as Test captain.
"They have caused an issue for themselves by bringing Shubman into this whole process of including him in T20 cricket. But I also think from an Indian cricket perspective, at all kinds of eras, you have always had superstars and they have backed a particular player for the sake of Indian cricket, and I think that narrative is continued to be followed right now," Uthappa said.
According to Uthappa, star factor was behind the BCCI selection committee picking Shubman Gill into the T20I squad as deputy.
"I think the marketing and business narrative also takes precedence, and I think that is also a part, which is why he is also brought in. You want certain superstars to take the game forward. Shubman is going to be one of them," 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
