After a delay of almost one and a half hours, the BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar and T20I captain Surykumar Yadav attended the press conference and announced the squad. As per the squad, Shubman Gill has been brought back in the T20I side as the vice captain, even though Axar Patel will still be touring the UAE. Despite a stellar season with the Punjab Kings in 2025 IPL, and being the highest scorer for India in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai, Shreyas Iyer has been overlooked by the team. Shubman Gill being considered as the vice captain had raised eyebrows. However, Surya explained that Gill was busy with a packed Test schedule and thus he couldn't feature in the T20 side, Surya said, “The last time when he played T20 for India, post T20 WC – in Sri Lanka, he was the vice-captain. That is where we started new cycle for the upcoming T20 World Cup. He got busy with Test cricket and Champions Trophy. So, he did not get enough opportunity. He is there in the squad and happy to have him.” Will Shubman Gill open at the UAE? Adding Shubman Gill to a previously set batting order raises a natural question: where will he fit in? Traditionally an opener, the Sky-Agarkar duo was asked if Gill will open in the Asia Cup. If he does, it will no doubt destabilize the opening partnership of Abishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. Well, Agarkar did not share any immediate light on this. He passed the decision-making responsibility on SKY, saying, "Captain will take the call. Will take the call once we are in Dubai. Shubman has been in great form anyway, even when he has played T20I for India. So is Sanju – two great options for India. Given the opposition and the conditions, we will take the final call." Read also: Rayudu on Boundary Rope Row in T20 WC Final Catch Controversy India squad for 2025 Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Sanju Samson (wk) Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk) Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh Standbys: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal