Why Has Shubman Gill Been Named As Vice-Captain Of India's Asia Cup Squad? Ajit Agarkar Explains

India announced their squad for the Asia Cup 2025 in Mumbai on Tuesday, with Suryakumar Yadav confirmed as captain and Shubman Gill named as his vice-captain. The announcement was made during a press conference attended by Suryakumar and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, shortly after a selection meeting that also included the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.

Shubman Gill led a young Indian side on the T20I tour to Zimbabwe after the T20 World Cup. Now he returns to the T20I squad for the first time since July 2024 and takes on the role of vice-captain. He has played 21 T20 internationals so far and scored 578 runs at an average of 30.42 and a strike rate of around 139. His record includes one century and three fifties, with a highest score of 126 not out.

He had also been vice-captain under Suryakumar during the T20I series against Sri Lanka last year but after that, he shifted his focus to Test cricket with long tours of Australia and England and also played in the ICC Champions Trophy.

Speaking at the press conference, Ajit Agarkar explained that the selectors saw leadership potential in Shubman Gill and were very impressed by his batting form in England, which came under a lot of pressure and exceeded their expectations.

Suryakumar agreed, noting that Shubman Gill had already been vice-captain before but had been unavailable for T20Is for a long time because of Test commitments and the Champions Trophy. He said that the team is happy to have him back in the T20 squad.

Shubman Gill’s form in the IPL 2025 was another strong point in his favor. He scored 650 runs in 15 innings, averaging 50 with a strike rate of nearly 156. He hit six fifties and had a top score of 93 not out, ending as the fourth highest run-scorer in the tournament.

During the Test tour of England this year, he showed impressive leadership by guiding a young Indian team without senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and R. Ashwin to a 2–2 draw. He also scored 754 runs in the series including four centuries and a highest score of 269.

Because of Shubman Gill’s appointment as vice-captain, Axar Patel, who had been promoted to that position after the Sri Lanka white-ball tour, has now been removed from the role.

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