Mumbai: India’s Test captain Shubman Gill was on Tuesday named vice-captain of the T20 squad for the Asia Cup, beginning September 9 in the UAE, with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah also making a return to the 15-member side.
Gill, who last featured in a T20I against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in 2024, replaces Axar Patel as deputy to skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
“Gill’s form in England was something we expected, but he went beyond that,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said while announcing the squad.
Bumrah’s availability had been under doubt due to the upcoming home Test series against the West Indies in October, but the selectors cleared him for his first T20 tournament since last year’s World Cup.
Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has also been included, while Jitesh Sharma will serve as the back-up wicketkeeper-batter. Yashasvi Jaiswal finds himself among the five standby players.
“It’s unfortunate for Jaiswal, but he will have to wait,” Agarkar added.
India are drawn in Group A alongside Pakistan, Oman and hosts UAE.
India’s Asia Cup squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.
