Former player Manoj Tiwary said that the reason behind Shubman Gill’s return to the T20I team as vice-captain for the Asia Cup 2025 was that head coach Gautam Gambhir likes working with him.
Gill was India’s Test captain during the tour of England.
The 25-year-old was the Men in Blue’s vice-captain during the T20I series against Sri Lanka last year and also led the Indian team in the five-match series against Zimbabwe. However, he remained out of the T20I team for a long time due to his Test and ODI assignments.
With the T20 World Cup in 2026, the selectors decided to recall the batter for the Continental Cup. His return led to the demotion of Sanju Samson in the batting order.
“Shubman Gill is a good batter and has done well for India and in the IPL. He was magnificent in the IPL as a batter and captain. He likes to take the responsibility,” Tiwary told Inside Sport.
“We saw Abhishek Sharma and Samson in Zimbabwe. They gave starts against Bangladesh. The team had never shown that kind of attacking mindset before in T20 cricket. So, when the two players have given you starts, scored hundreds and won matches, why do you want to bring Shubman Gill? The reason is that Gambhir wants a captain who listens to him,” he added.
Sanju Samson hasn’t batted for India in two matches of the Asia Cup 2025. On the other hand, Gill has amassed 30 runs in two innings.