'They have caused an issue for themselves...': Robin Uthappa's blunt verdict on Shubman Gill's inclusion in Asia Cup squad

Shubman Gill, who recently led the Indian team in the five-match Test series against England, was included in the Men in Blue's 15-member squad for Asia Cup 2025. The 25-year-old was also appointed as the deputy of Suryakumar Yadav for the continental tournament. This came as a surprise to many as Gill hasn't played a T20I for the national team since July, 2024.

Gill is likely to feature for India in majority of the matches in Asia Cup as he has been named the side's vice-captain. The batter, who has so far played 21 T20Is in his career so far, doesn't have a great record in the format. He only has 578 runs under his name in T20Is, including an average of 30.42. This has led many to question the inclusion of Gill in the squad for Asia Cup.

Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa feels that Gill's selection wasn't solely based on his performance in the format and was also influenced by 'marketing and business' reasons. Uthappa further remarked that this is another example of the BCCI backing a player to play all the three formats.

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"They have caused an issue for themselves by bringing Shubman into this whole process of including him in T20 cricket. But I also think from an Indian cricket perspective, at all kinds of eras, you have always had superstars and they have backed a particular player for the sake of Indian cricket, and I think that narrative is continued to be followed right now," Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.

"I think the marketing and business narrative also takes precedence, and I think that is also a part, which is why he is also brought in. You want certain superstars to take the game forward. Shubman is going to be one of them," he added.

India's schedule for Asia Cup

Meanwhile, the Asia Cup is set to commence from September 9. India will be beginning their campaign with the clash against UAE on September 10. They will then be facing-offf against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14 before concluding their group stage with the match against Oman on September 19.

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India's squad for Asia Cup: Suryakumar 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.