The The return of Shubman Gill, especially as the vice-captain of the Indian T20I side, has been the talking point since the BCCI announced a 15-member squad for the Asia Cup 2025 on Tuesday. Gill, who last played a T20I for India in 2024, was rewarded with a spot in the continental showpiece following his brilliant show in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and in the Test series in England recently.
With 600-plus runs for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025, and 750-plus runs against England, omitting Shubman Gill from the Indian squad for Asia Cup 2025, would have drawn severe criticism on the BCCI. While Gill’s inclusion was welcomed by all, his return as a vice-captain was not taken positively by several former cricketers, raising a question of what did Axar Patel do wrong?
Incidentally, Gill was Suryakumar Yadav‘s deputy when the former played his last T20I for India against Sri Lanka. With Gill getting busy with the Indian ODI and Test side and Abhishek Sharma–Sanju Samson pair doing wonders at the top of the order in the shortest format, Axar was named as the vice-captain of the side.
According to a The Indian Express report, Gill wasn’t the first choice for India’s T20I vice-captaincy for the Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection panel. But it was head coach Gautam Gambhir, who pressed hard for Gill’s inclusion as the vice-captain despite a year-long gap in T20Is.
Shubman Gill wasn’t 1st-choice for vice-captain?
Based on the report, the Gill debate took most of the time in the meeting which was joined by Gambhir virtually. With Test captaincy already in his bag and age by his side, Gambhir felt the management should groom someone like Gill for leadership in future and was the most eligible candidate. Gill turns 26 next month.
“Gill wasn’t the first choice initially and some people felt that Axar Patel should continue the role of vice-captaincy. But the overall mood at the selection meeting was that it’s better to invest in a player who is likely to serve Indian cricket for long,” the report said.
“The panel couldn’t find any other candidate whom they can hand over responsibility for the next five years. As Gill is already leading in Test cricket, the selectors felt it was a right time to prepare him to take over from Surya some time in the future,” it added.
