Test captain Shubman Gill was named vice-captain on Tuesday, while pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was added to India’s 15-man T20 team for the Asia Cup, which begins in the United Arab Emirates on September 9.
Gill, who has now taken Axar Patel’s role as captain Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy, played his last Twenty20 match at Pallekele against Sri Lanka in 2024.
“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 in Mumbai.
Because of the closeness to the home Test series against the West Indies in October, there were some residual concerns over Bumrah’s availability.
However, the selectors made their choice, and Bumrah will be participating in his first T20 competition since the World Cup last year.
Jitesh Sharma will serve as the backup wicketkeeper batsman, while left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has also been chosen.
The selectors selected five standby players, including Yashasvi Jaiswal. Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel, and Riyan Parag are the other players on standby.
“It’s unfortunate Jaiswal has had to miss out but he will have to wait,” Agarkar said.
India, Pakistan, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates are all in Group A of the Asia Cup.
India squad for Asia Cup: 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
