MUMBAI: Test skipper Shubman Gill was on Tuesday named in India’s T20 squad for next month’s Asia Cup cricket tournament after being left out of three previous series in the shortest format.
Gill, 25, returned to the 15-man squad as deputy to skipper Suryakumar Yadav, thanks to the stellar role he played with the bat in the recent Test series against England.
The top-order batsman scored 754 runs as India’s relatively young squad fought from behind to square the five-match series 2-2.
The eight-nation Asia Cup will be the first major event in the build-up to next year’s T20 World Cup in India in February and March.
“We obviously see some leadership qualities in him (Gill),” chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said in Mumbai.
“His form in England… exceeded our expectations which is a great sign when there’s so much pressure as captain.”
Suryakumar said he was happy to have Gill in the squad as he did not get too many opportunities in the past.
The Asia Cup will begin on Sept 9 with defending champions India set to face hosts United Arab Emirates a day later in Dubai in the eight-nation tournament.
India and arch-rivals Pakistan have been clubbed in Group ‘A’ and clash on Sept 14.
Gill, who was named Test skipper after the retirement of veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli earlier this year, last played a T20 international in July 2024.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah also made a comeback to the T20 ranks after opting out of two matches in England to manage his workload.
Bumrah’s last T20 outing was India’s World Cup title win over South Africa in June 2024.
Bumrah will be part of the pace attack alongside left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana.
Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav lead the spin charge.
Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2025
