India’s Asia Cup 2025 Squad: Bumrah’s Return, Vice-Captain Contest Between Gill and Axar

Shubman Gill is currently the talk of the town after his outstanding performance in the recent Test series against England. However, he will have competition from Axar Patel for the vice-captain role in India’s squad for the Asia Cup T20, which will be played in the UAE next month.

Jasprit Bumrah, India’s pace leader, is also set to feature in the tournament but might be given rest for the first Test against the West Indies in early October. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is expected to pick the Asia Cup squad on August 19 or 20, depending on when the Sports Science team at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) sends the fitness updates of all players. This includes skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who has already started batting practice in Bengaluru.

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Suryakumar Yadav Batter

Suryakumar Yadav, known as KY or Mr 360, is an Indian cricketer who plays for Mumbai Indians.

The selectors have some tricky calls to make, but will likely prefer to stick with the current combination, which has been successful under Suryakumar’s captaincy.

Axar Patel was the vice-captain in the last T20 series against England at home, while Gill was the deputy when Suryakumar first became the full-time T20 captain in Sri Lanka last year.

The top order looks solid with Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar, Tilak Varma, and Hardik Pandya.

A BCCI source said, “Abhishek Sharma is the world’s No. 1 T20 batter in the latest ICC rankings. Sanju Samson had a fantastic season with both bat and gloves. Gill’s form, even though in Tests, cannot be ignored, and he also had a good IPL. The problem for selectors is that there are too many top-order performers.”

Because of this, it will be tough to fit in Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan. KL Rahul, now the first-choice ODI wicketkeeper, is also unlikely to be picked as he doesn’t bat in the middle order.

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Second wicketkeeper choice

Samson is almost certain to be the first-choice wicketkeeper. The second spot is between Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel. Jurel played in the last T20 series, while Jitesh impressed during RCB’s IPL-winning season, excelling as a finisher.

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Sanju Samson Batter

Sanju Samson, a right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper, is a professional cricketer from India.

All-rounders

Hardik Pandya remains India’s first-choice seam-bowling all-rounder. Nitish Kumar Reddy, injured during the England series, is unlikely to recover in time. Shivam Dube, who made a strong comeback against England, is expected to make the squad. Axar Patel and Washington Sundar will likely be the other two spin-bowling all-rounders.

Fast bowling battle

Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh have secured their spots, but the third seamer position is still open. It’s a contest between Prasidh Krishna, who took 25 wickets in the last IPL, and Harshit Rana, known for his pace and bounce.

Likely Asia Cup contenders

Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana/Prasidh Krishna, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma/Dhruv Jurel.

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