Asia Cup: Shreyas Iyer ignored, Shubman Gill named vice captain; Yashasvi Jaiswal among standbys

MUMBAI: Shubman Gill has been named India’s vice-captain for the Asia Cup 2025, set to be played in the UAE next month. The 25-year-old opener, who led India to a 2-2 draw in the fiveTest series in England, returns to the T20I squad assuming a leadership role. Gill, captain of Gujarat Titans in the IPL, replaces left-arm spinner Axar Patel as the deputy to Suryakumar Yadav in the 15-man squad.

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Alongside Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, Gill’s selection ensures three opening options in the group, with Samson potentially serving as third opener. Gill’s most recent T20I was against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2024, where he also served as vice-captain to Yadav. Despite impressive performances by Samson and Abhishek in India’s last three T20I series against Bangladesh, South Africa and England, Gill’s strong showing in IPL-2025, where he scored 650 runs at a strike rate of 155.87 and led his franchise to the playoffs, bolstered his inclusion.

Additionally, Gill’s exceptional performance in the Test series in England, scoring four centuries and amassing 754 runs, played a significant role.

“We obviously see some leadership qualities in him, 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,” explained chief selector Ajit Agarkar. “There are more options for the top-order now and Shubman has been in great form anyway.

When they get to Dubai, they can decide on the playing XI according to the opposition and the conditions,” Agarkar added.

Samson’s spot in XI uncertain? Gill’s inclusion raises questions about Samson’s role, especially after his struggles against England pacer Jofra Archer in the T20I series in Jan and Feb, India’s last T20 assignment before the Asia Cup. There is speculation that Samson may be moved down the order, potentially making way for Jitesh Sharma as a finisher. “Sanju was playing because Shubman and Yashasvi were not available at that point, and so was Abhishek. But Abhishek’s performances clearly make it hard to leave him out. Plus, his bowling is handy. Like I said, Gill was vice-captain the last time he played T20 cricket. That was after the last T20 World Cup, so even at that point, clearly we were thinking along those lines. Now that he’s available, at least he has two options.

It’s their headache to pick the batting lineup now, ours was to pick the 15. But we’ve got some real depth as far as T20 cricket is concerned, and we are very happy with it,” Agarkar stated. Suryakumar Yadav commented, “The last time when he played T20Is for India, post the T20 World Cup when we went to Sri Lanka and when I was leading, Gill was the vice-captain. That’s where we started a new cycle. “After that, he got busy with all the Test series, and he didn’t get an opportunity to play T20Is because he was busy playing Test cricket and Champions Trophy.

Now, he’s there in the squad, and we’re happy to have him.

” Two of Mumbai’s star batters, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and middle-order enforcer Shreyas Iyer did not make the squad. Jaiswal is among the five reserves, while Iyer was excluded despite scoring 604 runs at a strike rate of 175 in IPL 2025 and leading Punjab Kings to the final. Agarkar justified their omission. “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. With regard to Shreyas, who can he replace? No fault of his, nor ours. At the moment, you can just pick 15. So he will have to wait for his chance,” Agarkar said. Bumrah back, Siraj rested The squad sees the return of World’s No. 1 fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, enhancing India’s pace unit alongside Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Hardik Pandya. Mohammed Siraj has been rested to stay fresh for the upcoming Tests, and Mohammed Shami appears to have been excluded from the T20I format.

Among spinners, Washington Sundar was not selected, while Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel were included.

The reserves include Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel. The tournament begins on Sept 9, with India opening their campaign against UAE at the Dubai International Stadium on Sept 10. India are placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, Oman, and UAE. The Asia Cup concludes on Sept 28 and will be one of the key auditions for spots for the men’s T20 World Cup next Feb in India and Sri Lanka. ‘Want Jasprit for all big games’ Agarkar emphasised the importance of having Bumrah available for major tournaments. He last played for India in the T20 format in the 2024 T20 World Cup final vs South Africa in Barbados on June 29 and his workload management has been one of the big talking points in Indian cricket. “I don’t think there’s any written plan. It has been a nice break after the England series. “The physios and team management have been in touch, and clearly, we want him available for all the big games.

There are World Cups, Champions Trophy, the big Test series like the ones against England and Australia and you want him available for those,” Agarkar explained. “Based on how he’s feeling and how we require him, we hope he’s available more often than not,” he added. After a month-long break, India areexpected to arrive in Dubai early to acclimatise. SQUAD: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vicecaptain), Abhishek Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav. Standbys: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.