Asia Cup 2025: Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh wants Test captain Shubman Gill to be a part of India’s squad for the upcoming T20 Asia Cup 2025. Harbhajan believes Gill can match anyone if he decides to attack and there is more to the T20 format than just big hitting. Harbhajan pointed out that Gill has done exceedingly well in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and is capable of scoring in any format.
“In the T20 format, it’s important to understand that it’s not just about big hitting. If Shubman decides to attack, he can match anyone, because he is a very solid player with strong basics. A batter with such a strong foundation can score runs in any format," Harbhajan told TOI.
"If you look at the IPL, Shubman has scored runs every season. He has worn the Orange Cap — and that doesn’t happen by chance.”
Harbhajan feels that Gill does not have a low strike rate. He reckons that the 25-year-old is capable of dominating the format.
“And it’s not like he bats only at a strike rate of 120 or 130; he can also bat at a strike rate of 160.
"Yes, we do have players like Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Tilak Varma, but you cannot undermine or underestimate Shubman Gill. He is a very talented batter who can adapt to any format. He is an all-format player. In my opinion, he can play T20s and even dominate the format. We as fans are used to seeing fours and sixes every ball, but you also need batters who can play long innings and rescue the team when required,” he added.
Gill’s numbers in IPL 2025 and T20I career
In this year's IPL, Gill scored 650 runs from 15 innings at an average of 50, including six half-centuries. The Gujarat Titans (GT) captain scored at a strike rate of 155.87.
Gill's previous T20I appearance was against Sri Lanka last year. He did not play in the T20I series against England earlier this year. So far, he has played 21 T20is and scored 578 runs at an average of 30.42, including one century and three fifties. His strike rate is 139.27.
Harbhajan picks India’s T20 Asia Cup 2025
Harbhajan believes that the wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will recover in time for the tournament. He did not include Varun Chakravarthy, Sanju Samson and Rinku Singh his squad for the event.
"I think the squad should be: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav – the captain, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag for the middle order, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant,” the 45-year-old said.
The selection committee is set to announce the squad for the T20 Asia Cup 2025 on August 19. India will begin their Asia Cup campaign against UAE on September 10.