Axar Patel likely to be ignored in Asia Cup shake-up as BCCI set to reinstate Shubman Gill as T20I vice-captain: Report
A successful tour of England, both as a captain and a batter, has opened up all sorts of avenues and triggered major speculations around Shubman Gill. A latest media report indicated that Axar Patel might lose his role in the Indian T20I set-up for the impending Asia Cup next month in the UAE as the BCCI is all set to reinstate Gill as the vice-captain. BCCI set to reinstate Shubman Gill as India T20I vice-captain(Action Images via Reuters)According to a report in RevSportz, Gill is not only certain to return to the T20I set-up for the Asia Cup, which will begin on September 9, but will also be elevated to the role of Suryakumar Yadav's deputy once again for the tournament.Gill's inclusion in the Asia Cup squad and potential return to the playing XI, will mark his first appearance in the format since featuring in the series against Sri Lanka in 2024 in July, right after India's T20 World Cup, where he did not feature. In a surprise move, BCCI selectors, in consultation with the then-new head coach Gautam Gambhir, named Gill as the new vice-captain of the Indian T20I side.However, with the 25-year-old prioritising the ODI format for the Champions Trophy earlier this year, and then Test cricket for the tour of Australia, he missed the subsequent T20I series, which left the selectors to pick Axar as the new vice-captain for the home series against England earlier this year.Besides T20Is, there is a growing consensus that Gill, who is also India's ODI vice-captain, should be elevated to the role of a skipper, keeping the 2027 ODI World Cup in mind. Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif was among the first to raise the discussion after the tour of England, where Gill led India to a stunning 2-2 draw, while notching up a record 754 runs in 10 innings during the contest. Whether that happens remains to be seen, especially with BCCI having already confirmed earlier at the time of Rohit Sharma's retirement from Test cricket that the 37-year-old will remain the ODI skipper. India's next ODI assignment will be the tour of Australia in October this year, where they will play three matches.Gill, meanwhile, will be seen in action later this month in the Duleep Trophy, where he will lead North Zone.
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