The BCCI is all set to announce the Indian team for the Asia Cup 2026 on August 19. There are a lot of selection conundrums at the moment, with many players fighting for several sports in the lineup.
The biggest debate has been on the selection of Shubman Gill after his heroics with the bat and as a skipper in the Test series against England. Several reports have been circling across media outlets regarding his selection.
Shubman Gill is being seen as a future white-ball captain for India, someone who can replace Rohit Sharma once he retires. From that perspective, there were talks about his selection as the vice-captain for the tournament.
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Selectors Moving Away From Shubman Gill's Selection
However, things have changed drastically in the last 48 hours. Several reports have said that the BCCI is considering Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of him as the third opener with Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma as the first-choice openers. The recent development on Gill was reported by Cricbuzz.
However, Gautam Gambhir, the Indian head coach, could be the saviour for Gill and he can be selected only if Gambhir is able to convince the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee. After showing keen interest on Gill’s T20I selection, the management seems to have moved away from that idea. They are more aligned with giving Jaiswal a chance in terms of consistency and his attacking batting instincts.
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Shubman Gill's T20I Numbers
Shubman Gill’s record as a T20I batter is not impressive at all. He has played 21 T20Is for India since his debut against Sri Lanka in 2023. He is yet to score 1000 runs in the format despite batting at the top-order and has scored three fifties and one hundred. His strike rate of 139.28 is way lower than where he should be, given that he is a top-order batter. All these factors might come into consideration in his selection or non-selection in the Asia Cup squad.
