Suryakumar Yadav recently underwent a sports hernia operation. The Indian T20I captain has already begun his rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence. It’s expected that he’ll be back to his physical best before the Asia Cup 2025. But what if he isn’t?
We know dealing with injuries isn’t easy. This particular issue has caused Suryakumar problems in the past as well. It’s great that he’s back in the nets. But things can get complicated during his rehab. If, God forbid, Surya isn’t fit for the Asia Cup, who’ll be Team India’s captain?
Can Shubman Gill even play in the Asia Cup?
The answer to this question isn’t a straightforward one. In the aftermath of Rohit Sharma’s T20I retirement, Suryakumar was named skipper and Shubman Gill his deputy. In normal circumstances, Gill would lead the team. But he hasn’t played a T20I since July 2024.
The move was taken to prioritise Gill’s availability for Test cricket. In May, he was named India’s Test captain. At this moment, we don’t even know whether the selectors would pick him since Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma have held the spot for the last 12 months.
But let’s assume the selectors wish to bring him back. Then, the question arises: how will Gill prepare for the India vs West Indies Tests? The 2-match series begins on October 2, while the Asia Cup ends on September 28. Even if India doesn’t make the final, they’ll still be playing until September 25 or 26.
It looks uncertain that Gill will feature in the Asia Cup, and therefore, thinking about him leading India is really out of the question.
Is Axar Patel’s spot confirmed?
In January, Axar Patel was named India’s T20I vice-captain ahead of the England series. Since then, the all-rounder has led an Indian Premier League (IPL) team for the first time as the permanent captain. His performance was fine, as the Delhi Capitals failed to make the playoffs by one spot.
But there might be questions over his place as well. We have seen how well Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy have done in T20Is. Considering the Asia Cup will take place in the UAE, spin will play a huge factor. Axar has been incredible with the bat, but his performance with the ball has diminished.
At the same time, Washington Sundar seems to be rising across formats. We know Gautam Gambhir rates him highly, and there is a circumstance that Axar gets dropped for Washington. Again, the question arises, can you make someone India’s T20I vice-captain who may not make the playing XI?
Hardik Pandya: If not then, why now?
The last option is Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder is a guaranteed pick considering he’s a white-ball player. There is no replacement for him. But there seems to be an issue. For some reason, Hardik, who was India’s vice-captain until the T20 World Cup 2024, wasn’t named skipper after Rohit retired.
He has won the IPL with the Gujarat Titans and is currently leading the Mumbai Indians, where Suryakumar plays under him. Yet, when the time came, he wasn’t named captain. For some reason, Axar trumped him as vice-captain as well. We don’t know why he wasn’t given the leadership. But if he wasn’t handed the responsibility then, why would he be given it now?
The BCCI seems to have created this problem on its own. They have named no permanent vice-captain, someone who’ll play for Team India irrespective of venue or conditions. If for some reason Suryakumar Yadav isn’t fit, we don’t know who’ll be India’s captain at the Asia Cup 2025.
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