"You want certain superstars to take the game forward" - Former batter's blunt take on Shubman Gill's inclusion in India's 2025 Asia Cup squad

Former batter Robin Uthappa opined on Shubman Gill's inclusion in India's 2025 Asia Cup squad. Gill returned to the T20 set-up and was also named vice-captain for the upcoming tournament.

Uthappa had a blunt take and reckoned that the Indian team caused an issue for themselves as they brought Shubman Gill back into the T20I fold. He felt that Gill could be one of the superstar players that the team would look to back. The right-hander last played a T20I before the 2024 T20 World Cup.

"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," he said on his YouTube channel 'Robin Uthappa'. (18:06)

Uthappa also added that Shubman Gill, being an upcoming superstar, could help India from a business point of view, which could also have played a part in his inclusion.

"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."

Gill, who became India's new Test captain, did exceptionally well in their recently concluded England tour both as a leader and as a batter. While there has been a debate on his inclusion in the T20I side, it must be noted that he has performed consistently in the past three editions of the IPL.

In the 2025 season alone, he scored 650 runs from 15 games at an average of 50 and a strike-rate of 155.87.

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Tough for Sanju Samson to open in the 2025 Asia Cup with Shubman Gill's inclusion

Shubman Gill's inclusion as a vice-captain means that he would surely start in India's playing 11 for the 2025 Asia Cup. That could disrupt the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.

Abhishek, as a left-hander, would hold on to his spot while Shubman Gill is certain to open alongside him. Sanju Samson may therefore be among those who miss out on a spot in the playing 11.

Robin Uthappa also reckoned that it would be tough for Samson to open the batting in the 2025 Asia Cup.

"Tough call. In the Kerala League, he also batted in the middle order as a finisher initially. It's not going to be that easy to work. You can't do it at the age Sanju is at. You should have gone down that road five years ago. A lot of Indian batters score a lot of runs, but they don't understand that the opportunities that they can get at the top are very few and far and between. They might be openers and score a lot of runs. But the opportunity at the higher levels is not going to be much," he said. (10:06)

Uthappa added that making a name as a finisher could be of more value in Indian and franchise cricket. Sanju Samson has had a mixed bag as an opener in T20Is. While he has scored 522 runs from 17 games at a strike-rate of 178.77, these runs have mainly come from three centuries, which raises concerns over his consistency.

He is in solid form at the moment. The wicketkeeper batter has made 368 runs from five innings at an average of 73.60 and a strike-rate of 186.80 in the ongoing Kerala Cricket League (KCL) 2025.