India’s Test captain Shubman Gill has been appointed as the T20I vice-captain for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, starting September 9 in the UAE. Gill, who last featured in a T20I for India in July last year, returns to the shortest format as Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy. In Gill’s absence, Axar Patel had been serving as vice-captain in recent T20Is, which raised questions about the sudden change in leadership.

Explaining the decision, India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav revealed that Gill was originally named vice-captain when the new T20 cycle began post the last World Cup. “The last time he played T20Is for India was when we went to Sri Lanka after the T20 World Cup, not Zimbabwe. I was leading, he was vice-captain, and that’s where we started the new cycle. After that, he was busy with Test series and the Champions Trophy. Now that he’s available, we are happy to have him back,” Suryakumar said during a press conference.

Gill’s elevation indicates India’s plan to groom him as an all-format leader after his successful debut Test series as captain against England.

The Asia Cup T20I tournament, featuring eight teams, will be played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from September 9 to 28. Defending champions India are placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, Oman, and the UAE. The Suryakumar-led side will open their campaign against UAE on September 10, followed by a high-voltage clash against Pakistan on September 14.

India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Standby players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

India are scheduled to play 15 more T20Is after the Asia Cup in preparation for the T20 World Cup in February 2026, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.