Mumbai:
Having amassed 754 runs in his first Test series as India captain, Shubman Gill has been the talk of the town. With an average of 59.04 in ODI cricket, he’s the captain-in-waiting in that format too. In T20I cricket, though, he’s likely to be shown the queue.
Things can still change when Ajit Agarkar’s selection committee formally meets on Tuesday to pick the Indian team for the T20 Asia Cup. “We’ll see what happens in the meeting,” a key BCCI functionary said, indicating there may still be room for a discussion.
Gill’s exclusion would come with the underlying message that the selectors want to stay invested with not just the personnel who helped register wins in the last four series, but also the new urgent direction of their cricket.
If Gill makes the team, it would have to be as an opener. If he doesn’t make the team, it’s to not disturb the Sanju Samson-Abhishek Sharma combination at the top.
Gill had captained in the series against Zimbabwe, which was immediately after the 2024 World Cup and before the series against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and England that followed. But that was before chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir handpicked Suryakumar Yadav as captain, over Hardik Pandya.
Gill later played under Yadav’s captainship against Sri Lanka. Project Surya is an intuitive call that has gone to plan so far. If Gill is seen as an all-format captaincy contender, that is for the future.
Bilateral cricket across formats has overlapped to such a large degree that every selection call is being viewed in context. If Tilak Varma played some breathtaking innings while batting at No. 3-4 in T20Is after the World Cup, Shreyas Iyer was a match winner all the way through IPL 2025. To separate one from the other is a call for the selectors to make.
They have happy headaches to deal with because the pool of targeted players has strengthened since the last World Cup, which India won. It may come down to the template they choose to go with. With a back-up available for almost every batting slot, there is ample opportunity to opt for the attacking way.
It’s here that Gill’s credentials don’t measure up. Gill’s best T20 performances have come in the IPL where he’s scored heavily over the last three seasons; his Strike Rate going over 150. But that’s usually an outcome of batting deeper into the Gujarat Titans’ innings. As an opener in the Powerplay, his career SR is a modest 131. Even in T20Is where the team composition allows him to bat more freely, he’s stuck at 126. In comparison, Samson’s scoring rate is higher – 132 in IPL, 143 in T20Is. Sharma (159 in IPL, 183 in T20Is) and Jaiswal (159 in IPL, 164 in T20Is) are way more attacking.
If India wants their top three to blaze away with the knowledge that they have the versatile Yadav and Hardik Pandya to shape the innings further, and enough batting depth, Gill may not fit in.
That’s not to say, Gill does not have it to find a higher gear. “As a batter, I know on my average day, I would be able to bat with a strike rate of 140-150. On a good day, it would be 180-200,” Gill told HT, last year. But he hasn’t had many of those good days, yet. Those who he is in competition with, have.
Gill was overlooked in the last World Cup. Jaiswal was picked ahead of him, but even he had to warm the benches. It explains why the two of them are on the waiting list. If Gill doesn’t make the Asia Cup squad, it wouldn’t be unjust. If he makes it, he will have jumped the queue.
Jitesh, Kuldeep likely to comeback
With Rishabh Pant unavailable due to injury, Jitesh Sharma has brightened his chances by batting at a high gear down the order in IPL 2025. Axar Patel will keep his place as a floater. Washington Sundar also has a strong case over a specialist spinner in Ravi Bishnoi. If picking multi-skilled players is a priority, Shivam Dube for his power hitting may nudge ahead of Rinku Singh.
Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav are four quality bowlers, all likely to make the squad despite their batting limitations.
For the third pacer, there’s the sharp and bustling Harshit Rana, IPL 2025’s highest wicket-taker Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj to choose from.
The home Test series against West Indies is scheduled three days after the Asia Cup final. That may influence the choice of the third pacer, but it won’t impact batting choices. Schedule won’t be the reason, if Test captain Gill doesn’t make it. “India’s best T20 team will be picked,” the BCCI official said.
