Asia Cup: Shubman Gill named India's vice-captain; Jasprit Bumrah included
What's the story
Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma have been included in India's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup, starting September 9. The Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI Men's Selection Committee announced the much-awaited squad on August 19. As announced earlier, Suryakumar Yadav will lead the squad after recovering from his sports hernia surgery. He will have the backing of senior players Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.
Squad
India's full squad
In a major development, Gill has been named India's T20I vice-captain. Gill, who led India's Test side in England, has replaced Axar Patel as the deputy. India's squad for Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, and Rinku Singh.
Information
Four stand-by players
Besides naming a 15-member squad, India have also named four stand-by players. These are Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wicket-keeper), and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Takeaways
Key takeaways from India's squad
India have gone with pacer Harshit Rana in place of the experienced Mohammed Siraj, who toiled in England. Shreyas Iyer, who was expected to enter the scheme of things, has missed out. Agarkar, during the press conference said, "He will have to wait for his chance." Besides, there are two specialist wicket-keepers in the form of Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson.
Bumrah
Bumrah set to feature
There have been concerns over Bumrah's workload management since the start of 2025 England tour. He featured in three of the five Tests, as the series was drawn (2-2). Notbaly, the premier pacer has not played white-ball cricket for India since last year's T20 World Cup. However, with the Asia Cup being played in T20I format, his workload will be trimmed.
Schedule
India's campaign begins on September 10
The 2025 Asia Cup will be held from September 9 to 28 in the UAE, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi hosting matches. India have been drawn with Pakistan in Group A and could meet their arch-rivals thrice during the tournament. They will start their campaign against hosts UAE on September 10 before facing Pakistan (September 14) and Oman (September 19).