BCCI announces India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad; Suryakumar to lead, Shubman Gill named his deputy

On Tuesday, August 19, the BCCI announced its strong T20I squad for the forthcoming Asia Cup 2025 campaign, scheduled to take place from Tuesday, September 9, in the United Arab Emirates.

Interestingly, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has selected Shubman Gill as the new vice-captain, replacing Axar Patel, who was earlier acting as Suryakumar’s deputy in the shortest format of the game.

Speaking about Gill’s comeback to the T20I team, Agarkar stated that the committee has seen Gill’s leadership qualities on the England tour, and his form in England was what they were hoping for, as he exceeded all expectations.

"We obviously see some leadership qualities in him (Gill), and his form in England was what we were hoping for. [He] exceeded all our expectations, which is a great sign when there's so much pressure as captain," Agarkar told the reporters.

Delving into the other details of the Indian squad, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are also a part of the squad. However, with Gill making a comeback, either Samson or Sharma needs to step away from the final playing XI.

Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, and Jitesh Sharma are other players who are part of the Indian batting unit, with Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, and Shivam Dube emerging as the three all-round options.

Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana form the pace battery while Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy are part of the spin attack. Agarkar also talked about the exclusions of Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

"With regard to Yashasvi, it's just unfortunate again. There's Abhishek Sharma: what he's done over the last year or so - plus he can bowl a little bit - he gives us that option if required. One of these guys was going to miss out. Yashasvi just has to wait for his chance,” Agarkar stated.

"With regard to Shreyas, who can he replace? No fault of his, nor is it ours. At the moment, you can just pick 15. So he will have to wait for his chance,” he added.

India is part of Group A alongside Pakistan, Oman, and the UAE. Their first game will be against the UAE on Wednesday, September 9. Later, they will cross swords with the arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, September 14, before ending their group stage against Oman on Friday, September 19.

India’s T20I squad for Asia Cup 2025: 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 players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at Sky365 and download the Sky365 App to start betting today!