Gill to serve as Suryakumar’s deputy as Asia Cup squad unveiled; Bumrah returns to T20I set-up

August 19, 2025

Team India for the Asia Cup 2025 was unveiled on Tuesday, with skipper Suryakumar Yadav leading the squad and Shubman Gill as his deputy, with several major names missing out.
The squad was announced during a press conference attended by T20I skipper Suryakumar and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, which was held after a selection meeting that also featured the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia.

India will kick off their campaign against the UAE on September 10, while the high-voltage game against Pakistan is scheduled for the September 14, with both fixtures set to be played in Dubai. India will play their final group stage fixture against Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.

After the group stage, the tournament will proceed to the Super 4, where the top two teams from each group will qualify. If India finishes at the top of Group A, then all of their Super 4 matches will be held in Dubai. If India finishes second, then one of their Super 4 clashes will be held in Abu Dhabi and the remaining two in Dubai. The Super 4 stage will run from September 20 to 26. Dubai will host the final, which is scheduled for September 28

Suryakumar is the captain of a formidable Team India, who have been in stunning form since their ICC T20 World Cup win last year, having won 10 out of 13 matches since the marquee tournament and losing just two.

Gill, who was the captain for the T20I tour to Zimbabwe just after the T20 WC, was leading a side that featured mostly newer players, will now play his first T20I competition since July 2024 as a vice-captain. In 21 T20Is, Gill has made 578 runs in 21 innings at an average of 30.42, with a strike rate of 139.27. He has scored a century and three fifties, with the best score of 126*. He was also Surya’s deputy during the T20I series against Sri Lanka away from home last year. After this series, he was omitted from T20Is to focus mainly on a heavy Test season with tours to Australia and England and the ICC Champions Trophy.

In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Gill scored 650 runs in 15 innings at an average of 50.00, with a strike rate of 155.87, with six fifties and a best score of 93*, ending as the fourth-highest run-getter in the tournament.

During the tour of England consisting of five Tests, Gill displayed exemplary leadership qualities as a captain, leading a new-look team without legends like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin to a well-fought 2-2 draw. He also scored a whopping 754 runs with the bat, including four tons and a best score of 269.

Axar Patel, who was elevated to the vice-captaincy following the Sri Lanka white-ball tour, has now been removed from the position of vice-captaincy. Jitesh Sharma, has been chosen as a back-up wicketkeeper-batter for Sanju Samson, who found a new lease of life as a T20I opener for Team India with three centuries in a quick succession. He played T20Is last time for India in January last year and scored 100 runs in nine matches across seven innings at an average of 14.28.