Published: Aug 20, 2025, 12:51 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 20, 2025, 12:51 PM (IST)
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has raised questions over Axar Patel being dropped from the vice-captaincy in the Suryakumar Yadav-led squad for the Asia Cup 2025. The BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar, along with skipper Yadav, recently announced India’s squad for the continental tournament, where Shubman Gill was handed the vice-captaincy following his stellar performance in the five-Test Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. Axar, who had earlier been named India’s T20I vice-captain for the home series against England in January, was surprisingly omitted from this leadership role.
Following the squad announcement, Kaif took to Twitter to ask whether Axar had been informed about his removal beforehand. The former cricketer stressed that Axar, considering his contributions and experience, deserves a proper explanation regarding the decision.
“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” wrote Kaif.
India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, while speaking to the media, explained why Shubman Gill was appointed vice-captain. He noted that Gill had already held the deputy role during India’s T20I tour of Sri Lanka. With a new cycle beginning after the 2024 T20 World Cup, the team management decided it was the right time to bring Gill back into the leadership setup.
“In my opinion, the last time Shubman Gill played a T20I for India was when we went to Sri Lanka. When I was leading, he was the vice-captain. That’s where we started the new cycle for the T20 World Cup. After that, he got busy with all the Test series. He didn’t get an opportunity to play T20Is because he was busy with Test cricket and the Champions Trophy,” Suryakumar Yadav told reporters.
The Asia Cup 2025 is set to begin on September 9, with India kicking off their campaign the following day against the UAE at the Dubai International Stadium. The highly anticipated clash against archrivals Pakistan is scheduled for September 14 at the same venue.
India squad for Asia Cup: 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
