'We're happy to have him': Suryakumar, Agarkar explain Gill's return to India's T20I side; Iyer, Jaiswal's omission

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India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar explain all the major decisions regarding the squad for Asia Cup 2025 which was announced on Tuesday.
India's squad announcement for the Asia Cup 2025, which will be played in the T20I format, included some eye-popping decisions as Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah returned to the T20I fold, with Gill being named as the vice-captain, while Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal were not picked.
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav also made a comeback as Ravi Bishnoi was dropped. Jaiswal finds himself in reserves, while Iyer could not even cut there, probably due to his seniority. Prasidh Krishna missed out as Harshit Rana was picked, while Washington Sundar was dropped to the reserves.
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Openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson continue to be a part of the squad along with Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy and Harshit Rana.
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Suryakumar not surprised with Gill's return
India T20I captain Suryakumar did not find anything surprising about Gill returning to the T20I squad and becoming the vice-captain in place of Axar Patel. Gill last played a T20I in Sri Lanka in July 2024.
'Last time when he played T20 post World Cup, when we went to Sri Lanka, he was vice-captain. That's where we started new cycle for T20 World Cup. After that we got busy with Test cricket, and he didn't get opportunities. We're happy to have him,' SKY said.
Whether Gill will open now for India? On this issue, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar said: 'Captain-coach will take the call on the best balance for the team. Once we get to Dubai, will have a bit more clarity. More options available now, Shubman been in great form anyway last few months. So has Sanju. So, two good options, along with Abhishek.'
India want Bumrah to play big tournaments
Bumrah is making a return to the T20I side for the first time since the T20 World Cup final last year, which India won. Bumrah only played three Tests out of five recently in England, but chief selector Agarkar said the management wants him to be available for big tournaments.
Agarkar on Bumrah: 'I don't think there's any written plan. Been a nice break after the England series. Physios, team management been in touch. Clearly we want him available for all the big games. There are World Cups, Champions Trophy, big series like England, Australia - you want him available. Because he's picked up injuries over the last 2-3 years, because of how special and unique it is - it won't change. Based on how he's feeling and how we require him, we hope he's available more often than not,' Agarkar said.
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Why were Iyer, Jaiswal not picked?
On major surprises like Jaiswal and Iyer not finding a place in the squad, Agarkar gave different reasons. On Jaiswal, he said: 'It's unfortunate. With what Abhishek has done over the last year or so, plus he gives us a bowling option, it is required. One of these guys was always going to miss out.'
On Shreyas, Agarkar said it was impossible to fit him into the squad: 'Again, no fault of his. Got to tell me who he can replace? At the moment, will have to wait for his chance.'
Shreyas Iyer recently led Punjab Kings to the final of IPL 2025. Image: PTI
On all-rounder Washington Sundar missing out and Rinku Singh retaining his place, Agarkar said that the selectors felt India need an extra batter.
'He's always be in the scheme of things. At the moment, we have two mystery spinners/wrist-spinners in Varun and Kuldeep, and Axar has been around for a while. When we need four spinners - he may always be in the mix. For now, we felt we needed an extra batter in Rinku. And you could only pick 15. If there were 16, maybe he could've been in,' Agarkar said.
SKY explains Jitesh replacing Jurel
Suryakumar also addressed Jitesh of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, replacing Dhruv Jurel in the squad as the second-choice wicket-keeper, as he underlined the recent good performances of Jitesh in IPL 2025.
'Post last T20 World Cup, we spoke a lot on how to go about it. We spoke about let's not think of milestones ahead, follow your journey. Been a completely different cricketer post that. The way he performed in the IPL and domestic tournaments he played, he's done really well, has earned his spot again.'
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In IPL 2025, Jitesh scored 261 runs at a strike rate of 176.35 as RCB won the tournament.