Shubman Gill in, Axar Patel out! Big changes in India’s Asia Cup 2025 T20I setup

A successful tour of England, both as a captain and a batter, has opened numerous opportunities and sparked significant speculation regarding Shubman Gill. A recent media report suggested that Axar Patel may lose his position in the Indian T20I setup for the upcoming Asia Cup next month in the UAE, as the BCCI is poised to reinstate Gill as the vice-captain.

According to a report from RevSportz, Gill is not only expected to return to the T20I setup for the Asia Cup, which kicks off on September 9, but he will also be promoted to the role of Suryakumar Yadav's deputy once again for the tournament.

Gill's inclusion in the Asia Cup squad and his potential return to the playing XI will signify his first appearance in this format since participating in the series against Sri Lanka in July 2024, right after India's T20 World Cup, where he did not play. In a surprising decision, BCCI selectors, in consultation with the then-new head coach Gautam Gambhir, appointed Gill as the new vice-captain of the Indian T20I team.

However, with the 25-year-old focusing on the ODI format for the Champions Trophy earlier this year, and then on Test cricket for the tour of Australia, he missed the subsequent T20I series, leading the selectors to choose Axar as the new vice-captain for the home series against England earlier this year.

In addition to T20Is, there is a growing belief that Gill, who also serves as India's ODI vice-captain, should be promoted to the role of captain, especially with the 2027 ODI World Cup in mind. Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif was among the first to initiate this discussion after the tour of England, where Gill led India to an impressive 2-2 draw, accumulating a record 754 runs in 10 innings during the series. Whether this will materialize remains uncertain, particularly since the BCCI had previously confirmed that Rohit Sharma, at the age of 37, will continue as the ODI captain following his retirement from Test cricket. India's next ODI assignment will be the tour of Australia in October this year, where they are scheduled to play three matches.

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