Mumbai, Aug 19 : Test skipper Shubman Gill was on Tuesday appointed India’s T20 vice-captain for next month’s Asia Cup where Jasprit Bumrah will also be there to bolster the team’s bowling attack even as a strong contender like IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer missed out due to abundance of talent in the format.
The 25-year-old Gill’s last T20 International match was against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in 2024 and he has now replaced Axar Patel as the deputy of skipper Suryakumar Yadav in the 15-strong squad.
Asia Cup begins on September 9 and India is placed in Group A of alongside Pakistan, Oman, and the UAE.
Gill’s inclusion was hardly a surprise after a stupendous run in the recent Test rubber against England where he scored four hundreds in the drawn five-match series.
“Gill’s form in England was something we expected but he exceeded it all,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said during the squad announcement press conference here.
However, the management will have to ponder over Gill’s batting slot during the continental showpiece because Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson have forged an effective pair at the top.
Agarkar looked at it as a delightful problem of plenty rather than a headache.
“There are more options (for top order) now and Shubman has been in a great form anyway. When they get to Dubai, they can decide on the playing XI according to the opposition and the conditions,” said the former India pacer.
But the team think tank has the option of pushing Samson down to the middle-order, where the Kerala batter batted quite often in the past, and gave Gill the opening slot.
Agarkar hinted as much.
“Sanju was playing because Shubman and Yashasvi were not available at that point (and) so was Abhishek. (But) Abhishek’s performances clearly makes it hard to leave him out. Plus, his bowling is handy,” he said.
“Like I said, he (Shubman) was (the) vice-captain the last time he played T20 cricket. That was after the last World Cup so even at that point, clearly we were thinking along those lines.
“Now that he’s available, at least he (Suryakumar) has two options. It’s their headache to pick the batting lineup (now); ours was to pick the 15 and so. But we’ve got some real depth as far as T20 cricket is concerned and we are very happy with it,” he added. (PTI)
