Asia Cup 2025: Gill gets the nod as deputy, Bumrah’s back to spearhead pace

The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel named a 15-member squad for the Asia Cup in Mumbai on Tuesday. Speedster Jasprit Bumrah, who played only three matches in the recently concluded five-Test series against England due to workload management, is now fully fit and ready for the white-ball challenge. However, Test opener, Mumbai boy Yashasvi Jaiswal, found himself among the five standbys, while Mumbai’s middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer was left out. 

Gill, who scored 650 runs while leading Gujarat Titans to the IPL-18 Playoffs, and later smashed over 750 runs on the England Test tour, last represented the country in a T20I against Sri Lanka on July 30, 2024. “Gill last played T20Is in Sri Lanka [in July 2024], when I was captain and he was the vice-captain, and that’s when we started a new cycle for [the next] T20 World Cup. 

India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar addresses the media at the BCCI headquarters on Tuesday. Pic/Shadab Khan

After that, he got busy with Tests and the Champions Trophy. We are happy to have him back,” Suryakumar said during the post-selection press conference at the BCCI headquarters on Tuesday. 

The tournament that will decide the Asian champions also marks the start of India’s preparation for the T20 World Cup which they will co-host with Sri Lanka in February and March next year. 

“This is the first big tournament after the 2024 T20 World Cup. It’s a good tournament to test ourselves. And after this, there are a lot of T20s, I think close to 20-22, before we play our first game at the T20 World Cup. So, I think the journey starts from this Asia Cup,” Suryakumar said in reply to a question by mid-day about his team’s preparations for the next T20 World Cup. 

Agarkar echoed similar views: “We had a little bit of an idea after the last World Cup about where we’re heading, but as we get closer, we know who our 16, 17, 18 guys are, and we want to try and give them the best possible opportunity to be in the best form going into the World Cup.” 

‘Want Bumrah for big games’

When asked whether there are any further plans regarding Bumrah’s workload, Agarkar said that the team management wants him to be available for all the big matches. “I don’t think there is any written plan at the moment. Obviously, there has been a nice break after the England series. The team management or the physios or people concerned are always in touch. It’s not just now. Even before his [back] injury, we tried to look after him because we know how valuable he is. Clearly, we want him available for all the big games. I know in international cricket, every game is a big game, but there are World Cups, there is the Champions Trophy or a big series like England or Australia. We want him available all the time. Most fast bowlers are monitored and yes, because he has picked up an injury over the last two-three years,” remarked Agarkar. 

The squad comprises two all-rounders — Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube — while Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav will lead the spin bowling department. With Gill back, wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who opened the innings with Abhishek Sharma earlier, has to compete with stumper Jitesh Sharma for a place in the playing XI. 

India will begin their Asia Cup campaign against UAE in Dubai on September 10.

52.50
Shubman Gill’s average in the last five T20Is. He scored 210 runs including two half-centuries

15
No. of wickets claimed by Jasprit Bumrah during last year’s T20 World Cup at an outstanding economy rate of 4.17

India’s squad
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav