Gill rewarded for Test performance as India eye Asia Cup glory in UAE
Gill, 25, returned to the 15-man squad as deputy to skipper Suryakumar Yadav, thanks to the stellar role he played with the bat in the recent Test series against England.
The top-order batsman scored 754 runs as India's relatively young squad fought from behind to square the five-match series 2-2.
The eight-nation Asia Cup (September 9-28) in the UAE will be the first major event in the build-up to next year's T20 World Cup in India in February and March.
"We obviously see some leadership qualities in him, and his form in England was what we were hoping for. He exceeded all our expectations, which is a great sign when there's so much pressure as captain," chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said in Mumbai.
Suryakumar said he was happy to have Gill in the squad as he did not get too many opportunities in the past.
"Last time when he (Gill) played T20 for India, post T20 World Cup when we went to Sri Lanka - not Zimbabwe - when I was leading, he was the vice-captain," Suryakumar said.
"So that's where we started a new cycle. After that, he got busy with all the Test series, and he didn't get an opportunity to play T20s because he was busy playing Test cricket and Champions Trophy. So he's there in the squad, and we're happy to have him."
The Asia Cup will begin on September 9 with defending champions India set to face hosts UAE a day later in Dubai in the eight-nation tournament.
India and arch-rivals Pakistan have been clubbed in Group A and clash on September 14.
Gill, who was named Test skipper after the retirement of veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli earlier this year, last played a T20 international in July 2024.
While Gill is back in the T20 team, there is no place for Yashasvi Jaiswal.
"With regard to Yashasvi, it's just unfortunate again," Agarkar said. "There's Abhishek Sharma: what he's done over the last year or so - plus he can bowl a little bit - he gives us that option if required. One of these guys was going to miss out. Yashasvi just has to wait for his chance."
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah also made a comeback to the T20 ranks after opting out of two matches in England to manage his workload.
Bumrah's last T20 outing was India's World Cup title win over South Africa at Barbados in June 2024.
Kohli and Rohit quit T20 internationals after the triumph.
Bumrah will be part of the pace attack alongside left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana.
Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav lead the spin charge.
Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma are the two wicketkeepers in the side.
"This is the first big tournament we are playing since the (2024) T20 World Cup," Suryakumar said.
"We have played three-four bilateral series. It's a good tournament to test ourselves. After this, there are a lot of T20s - close to 20-22 T20s in total - before we play our first game in the (2026) World Cup, so I think the journey starts from the Asia Cup."
Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
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