India's squad for the Asia Cup 2025 is generating significant buzz as reports suggest the inclusion of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, while Axar Patel might lose his vice-captaincy. The Asia Cup 2025, the 17th edition of the tournament, is scheduled to be held in September 2025 in the United Arab Emirates. The matches will be played in the T20I format.
Shubman Gill's Expected Return and Leadership Role
Shubman Gill is likely to make a comeback to the T20I squad for the Asia Cup 2025. Gill is also expected to be appointed as the vice-captain for the tournament. This decision highlights the team management's confidence in Gill's maturity, strategic thinking, and consistent performance. Gill's last T20I appearance was in July 2024 during the tour of Sri Lanka. He had a successful tour of England, both as captain and batter. In his first assignment as captain, Gill excelled with the bat, scoring 754 runs to help India draw the five-match series 2-2 against England.
There is also 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.
Shreyas Iyer's Comeback
Shreyas Iyer is expected to return to India's T20I squad for the Asia Cup. A source from the BCCI stated that Iyer's class and experience are needed in the middle order in all formats. Iyer last played a T20I in December 2023. Iyer is also likely to be named in India's squad for the two-match home Test series against West Indies.
Iyer played a key role both as a batter and captain, leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their first title in a decade in 2024, and guiding Punjab Kings (PBKS) to the final in 2025.
Axar Patel to Lose Vice-Captaincy?
Axar Patel may lose his position as the T20I vice-captain for the upcoming Asia Cup. Shubman Gill is likely to be named as Suryakumar Yadav's deputy for the Asia Cup. Axar Patel has been serving as Suryakumar Yadav's deputy in the format following the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma after the T20 World Cup last year. Axar was rewarded for his consistency in the format and also impressed as Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper in IPL 2025.
Other Probable Players and Captaincy
Suryakumar Yadav is likely to lead India in the Asia Cup 2025. Other players who are likely to be included in the squad are Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy/Shardul Thakur, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakaravarthy. Rishabh Pant is ruled out of Asia Cup 2025.
Asia Cup 2025: Format and Groups
The Asia Cup 2025 will feature 8 teams. The five full members of the Asian Cricket Council (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) have automatically qualified for the tournament. They will be joined by United Arab Emirates, Oman and Hong Kong, the teams which finished in the top three in the 2024 ACC Men's Premier Cup. India have been placed alongside Pakistan in Group A and could face each other up to three times during the tournament. India will begin their campaign against the United Arab Emirates on September 10. Group A consists of India, Pakistan, UAE, and Oman, while Group B includes Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong.
