When the Indian T20I squad for the Asia Cup 2025 was announced last month, there was a notable inclusion in it. Shubman Gill was not only added to the squad but also named vice-captain despite the top-order firing through Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav himself.
The move to bring Gill back into the T20I fold and hand him the leadership role drew criticism from a certain section of fans and experts, who believe that the Test captain doesn’t have the game to adapt to the high-risk tempo that defines the current Indian T20I team.
Shubman’s inclusion marks his return to T20Is for the first time since July 2024. Having been named Surya’s deputy, he is likely to open the batting alongside Abhishek Sharma, with Samson likely to make way for the returning star.
However, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed confidence in Gill’s ability to seamlessly adjust to whatever role the team demands of him.
“I think Shubman Gill has improved his T20 cricket a lot, particularly in the last few seasons, including in the IPL. When he first began at KKR, I vaguely recall his strike rate hovering around 125. That has now improved to 150. Last year’s IPL saw him strike at over 150 while consistently piling up runs at a higher rate,” Pathan said, as quoted by India Today, during a media conference organised by Sony Sports.
“The Indian team has moved to a higher strike rate. They want to be very aggressive. I don’t think Shubman Gill will have any issue adjusting to that and doing what the team expects of him,” he added.
“Don’t forget he is a leader as well. When you become a leader, you are expected to lead in multiple ways. He is the vice-captain here and captain in Test cricket. More than anyone else, I believe Gill will want to prove a point by being aggressive and leading from the front. He has the ability. He has got a big range,” he further remarked.
Pathan, however, cautioned against expecting Gill to completely change his approach. He emphasized that a team sometimes requires a player capable of batting across different gears, especially on tricky surfaces in the T20 format.
“The only thing is you should not be obsessed with strike rate all the time. Even in T20 cricket, I have always believed it is about playing according to the situation. In a 140-run game, particularly when the surface is challenging, the equation changes. In such scenarios, strike rate becomes secondary.
“But if the team demands it, Gill has the skillset to adapt to varying strike rates,” he concluded.
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
