The subtext of Gill's selection

Ajit Agarkar was non-committal on whether Shubman Gill will walk into India's playing XI for the Asia Cup, but his actions seemed to speak louder than his words.

The chairman of selectors merely remarked, "Now that he is available, it is their (team management's) headache to pick the batting lineup. Our headache to pick the XV." Much, however, may have been lost in translation - or buried between the lines. Gill's appointment as vice-captain was a statement of intent that he must not be left out of the XI.

Much has been said about Gill's appointment as vice-captain being the first step towards his rise as an all-format leader. But for now, it's just the talk - his captaincy across formats is inevitable anyway, sooner or later. The selectors wanted to ensure Gill is part of the starting XI straight away. As the vice-captain of the side, he is an automatic selection into the XI.

The other reason is that the selectors want to build on the momentum Gill has generated as a batter in England. Scoring over 750 runs in five Tests is rare, if not unprecedented, and they believe that form must not remain unexploited. While announcing the squad (on Tuesday, August 19), Agarkar was quick to point out that Gill was never dropped from the T20I side; he only missed games over the past year because of commitments in other formats.

Gill opened in all 21 T20Is that he featured in, the last being against Sri Lanka in July, 2024. He has since missed 12 T20Is and when he is back, he will regain his position at the top of the order, opening the innings with his statemate Abhishek Sharma.

It is now evident that Sanju Samson, who had opened in Gill's absence, is set to miss out on the starting XI. His returns in the five-match home series against England - India's last T20 assignment - were modest to say the least: 26, 5, 3, 1 and 16.

Samson has been included largely as a specialist wicketkeeper, but it is Jitesh Sharma who is more likely to make the final XI. The fact that Samson and Jitesh are not like-for-like keeper-batters could be seen as a minor flaw in the selection, but that is a debate for another day.

Sunil Gavaskar thinks Samson can be pushed down the order. "He can still be in the team as somebody batting down the order. He can bat at 5 or 6. He shouldn't be left out, after all he's the wicket-keeper. Sanju is a very gifted player; he can adapt. He is used to batting down the order, we shouldn't be too worried about him, he's a class act," the cricket legend told Sports Today.

Once Gill's inclusion was confirmed, Yashasvi Jaiswal had to miss out. The selectors were clear they did not want four opening options for just seven potential games in the Asia Cup. As Agarkar said, Jaiswal was unlucky - just as Shreyas Iyer, whose omission has attracted considerable criticism and backlash, particularly on social media. Agarkar stressed it was neither Iyer's fault nor the selectors'.

Shivam Dube's selection may have raised a few eyebrows but it is said that he is seen as an all-rounder and he apparently bowls whenever he is at the Centre of Excellence (in Bengaluru). He may have bowled only two overs in the last IPL for Chennai Super Kings but the selectors look at him differently from his IPL franchise.