India Test skipper Shubman Gill was, on Tuesday, appointed vice-captain of India’s 15-member T20 squad for next month's Asia Cup, which will also feature ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
Gill's last T20 match was against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in 2024, and he has now replaced Axar Patel as the deputy of skipper Suryakumar Yadav. The Asia Cup gets underway on September 9 in the UAE.
"Gill's form in England was something we expected, but he exceeded it all," chief selector Ajit Agarkar said during a press conference organised here to announce the squad.
There were doubts about Bumrah's availability, largely because the tournament precedes the home Test series against the West Indies in October. This will be Bumrah's first T20 tournament since last year's World Cup.
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav too has made it to the squad, while Jitesh Sharma will be the back-up wicketkeeper batsman. Yashasvi Jaiswal was among the five standby players chosen by the selectors. "It's unfortunate Jaiswal had to miss out, but he will have to wait," Agarkar said.
Another prominent name missing in the squad was Shreyas Iyer, who exhibited tremendous form while guiding Punjab Kings to the IPL final earlier this year. Agarkar blamed it on the abundance of T20 talent, which makes it difficult to accommodate him. "We have got some serious options in T20 squad...sometimes not the easiest squad to pick, but good headache to have," Agarkar said.
India is placed in Group A of the Asia Cup alongside Pakistan, Oman and the UAE.
Asia Cup squad
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, Kuldeep Yadav.
Renuka Thakur, Pratika Rawal picked for ODI World Cup
Renuka Singh Thakur has been included in India's squad for the Women's ODI World Cup at home, along with top-order batter Pratika Rawal. Hard-hitting batter Shafali Verma has, however, been left out.
The squad will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur with Smriti Mandhana, who was also present at the selection meeting at the BCCI headquarters, as her deputy in the ICC event which begins on September 30. The selectors also announced the squad for the three ODIs against Australia, which precedes the World Cup with only one change in both the sides.
The series begins on September 14. Rawal, who has done exceptionally well in 14 ODIs, was chosen ahead of hard-hitting opener Shafali. On expected lines, the India squad is spin-heavy with Charani teaming up with senior pros Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana and Radha Yadav.
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