All-rounder Axar Patel, who was the vice-captain before the Asia Cup, has been removed from the designation, and Shubman Gill, who has not been a part of the T20I sides in recent times, has been given the responsibility. Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes that Axar needs an explanation.
“I hope Axar Patel was informed about his removal from vice-captaincy in advance and he didn’t come to know about it from the press conference. Axar did no wrong so he deserves an explanation. @akshar2026,” Kaif wrote on X (Formerly known as Twitter)
The BCCI on Tuesday announced the Indian squad for the Asia Cup, bringing an end to months-long speculation with Suryakumar Yadav set to lead the team while Gill made his way back into the T20I setup as his deputy.
Gill returned to the shortest format for the national team since June 2024. The India Test captain recently guided the team in against England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy where they tied the series 2-2. Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal, however, missed out while Kuldeep Yadav came back into the team after missing the England T20I series at the beginning of the year. Big-hitter Rinku Singh as well as pace star Jasprit Bumrah was also included.
However, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that this won’t be the final selection for the T20 World Cup 2026. “We have had a nice break…We are trying to look after him: Agarkar said on Bumrah’s workload management. Talking about Jaiswal, who was a standby, Agarkar said, “he will have to wait.”
“We have lovely players around with amazing skills which makes my job easier,” Surya said.
Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Standbys: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
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