Gill back in T20 fold, named vice-captain
Gill's selection from among India's burgeoning T20 talent pool didn't seem locked in with Abhishek Sharma-Sanju Samson's opening combination having made a strong case with their power-packed starts in the previous three bilateral series. However, before Tuesday's selection meeting, in a final round of informal deliberations between captain, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir, they are known to have decided to back high-flying Test skipper Gill's T20 credentials.
'The last time he played T20I, post the World Cup when we went to Sri Lanka, he was the vice-captain,' Surya said about Gill. 'That's where we started a new cycle for the (2026) T20 World Cup. After that we got busy with Test cricket and he didn't get opportunities. We're happy to have him.'
Like Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal too was a playing eleven regular in that Sri Lanka series, played in July last year. He was picked ahead of Gill for the 2024 World Cup. Gill, having grown in stature in the other formats, has earned himself an opportunity to find his T20 peak. With Jaiswal 'it's unfortunate,' Agarkar told the media conference.
In all likelihood, Gill will open with Abhishek Sharma, his fellow Punjab opener. That will force another change in the playing combination – Samson is likely to make way for Jitesh, who makes a comeback and will slot in as a finisher in India's preferred eleven.
Gill's ascent to becoming a key member in India's all-format leadership group is evident. 'I can discuss T20 right now. In Test cricket, he is already leading. He was the vice-captain in the last T20, so we obviously see some leadership qualities in him,' Agarkar said. 'And his form in England, he obviously exceeded all our expectations, which is a great sign, (to perform) when there's so much pressure on you as a captain.'
Shreyas misses out
Shreyas Iyer's 604 runs while leading Punjab Kings to the IPL final went unrewarded. With India's Asia Cup matches to be played in Dubai where the wickets may assist spin, the proficiency of Shreyas against spin may have come into consideration. However, the selectors chose to stick with Tilak Varma, who scored heavily in the bilateral series before IPL.
'Again, no fault of his. Got to tell me who he can replace? At the moment, he'll have to wait for his chance,' Agarkar said on Shreyas.
While Shreyas does not find a place even among the five reserves, allrounder Washington Sundar does. Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel are the others who narrowly missed the cut.
With Gambhir's preference to have multi-skilled options in the squad, Washington stood a chance. Instead, the selectors went with Rinku Singh, giving the UP left-hander another chance to excel in the difficult finishing role.
Among spinners, Kuldeep Yadav's return pushes leggie Ravi Bishnoi out, opening a window for the wrist spinner to combine with Varun Chakravarthy. The spin twins were very successful in bamboozling batters in the ODI Champions Trophy played earlier in the year in Dubai.
Bumrah for big games
Back to leading the pace pack will be Jasprit Bumrah. Giving him company will be Arshdeep Singh. The two were a force during India's winning campaign in 2024 USA-West Indies. Bumrah's limited availability for the England Test series to manage his workload has raised further questions on how the pace ace may be used across formats in the immediate future.
'I don't think there's any written plan,' said Agarkar. 'It's been a nice break after the England series. Physios, team management and people concerned have always been in touch, tried to look after him since we know how valuable he is. 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.'
The third pacer's slot goes to Harshit Rana, who had made a bright debut in the last T20I series against England in January-February. Rana's ability to hit the deck and his power-hitting saw him chosen over Krishna, who was the highest wicket-taker in this year's IPL with 25 scalps.
'It's not like we don't look at IPL,' said Agarkar. 'When you pick a T20 squad, of course, you look at IPL performances. Because there have been overlapping series, there have been a lot more people who have ended up playing T20 cricket. We've got so many options as far as T20 is concerned that sometimes it's not the easiest squad to pick. It's a good headache to have.'
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