Team India Test captain Shubman Gill's dream stretch continued after he was included in the 15-member squad for the 2025 Asia Cup, starting September 9. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar also confirmed that the 25-year-old would be India's vice-captain for the tournament and in T20Is.The news came as a big surprise to many, as Gill hadn't played a T20I since the Sri Lankan tour in July 2024. Yet, one must remember that the youngster captained a second-string Indian squad in the Zimbabwe tour before the series against Sri Lanka last year.Gill is coming off a record-breaking Test series in England, finishing the five-match series with 754 runs at an average of over 75, including a double century and three centuries. He also enjoyed an excellent IPL 2025 season, scoring 650 runs at an average of 50 and a strike rate of 155.87 in 15 outings.Nevertheless, his selection and appointment as vice-captain in T20Is drew opinions from several former players.Here are the top five expert reactions to Shubman Gill's appointment as vice-captain for the 2025 Asia Cup.#1 Sunil GavaskarFormer opener Sunil Gavaskar believes Shubman Gill's appointment as T20I vice-captain is a signal that the youngster will lead India across formats in the future. International cricket aside, the 25-year-old has captained the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the last two IPL seasons.“He scored over 750 runs just a couple of weeks ago. You cannot exclude a player in that kind of form. Giving him the vice-captaincy is also a way of telling him that in the future, he could be leading the T20 side. I think it’s a very, very good selection," said Gavaskar on India Today.While GT struggled in IPL 2024 under Gill, they qualified for the playoffs in the 2025 season.#2 Abhishek NayarFormer Indian batting coach Abhishek Nayar believes Shubman Gill's T20I vice-captain appointment indicates that the youngster is likely to be the all-format captain soon. The right-hander hasn't been as impressive in T20Is as he has in the other two formats, averaging only 30.42 at a strike rate of 139.27 in 21 matches."This squad announcement sort of tells you the mindset of the selectors. With selection of Shubman, in time, he is going to be an all-format captain, and that's where they are sort of positioning him. Great pick, terrific player. I'm sure he's going to follow the mindset of being attacking, having that approach. And I feel it's going to be a very, very interesting next 12 months in Shubman Gill's life," said Nayar on JioStar (via Crictracker).Gill has been incredibly consistent in the IPL over the past three seasons, including winning the Orange Cap in 2023 with 890 runs.#3 Aakash ChopraFormer opener Aakash Chopra echoed Abhishek Nayar's sentiments, saying the move to appoint Shubman Gill as the T20I vice-captain was a big step in him becoming India's all-format captain. Axar Patel was skipper Suryakumar Yadav's deputy in T20Is over the past year in Gill's absence from the side."Shubman Gill is the new vice-captain for India’s T20I team. What does it mean? It means that India is heading towards him being the all-format captain. He is the Test captain, will eventually be the ODI captain and if he is the vice-captain of the T20I side, that means a future captain is being prepared," said Chopra (via India Today).Gill scored a 37-ball 39 in his last T20I appearance against Sri Lanka in July 2024, with the contest ending in a tie.#4 Irfan PathanFormer all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes that appointing Shubman Gill as the T20I vice-captain has officially made it the start of the latter's era in Indian cricket. The 25-year-old has already established himself as arguably India's best ODI batter with an average of almost 60 and a strike rate of 99.56 in 55 games."Shubman Gill era has begun for Indian cricket in all format," posted Pathan on his X handle.Following Rohit Sharma's red-ball retirement, Gill was appointed India's Test captain just ahead of the recently concluded England tour.#5 Ravichandran AshwinFormer Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin expressed delight over Shubman Gill's inclusion and appointment as the vice-captain for the 2025 Asia Cup. However, Ashwin believes Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer had an equally compelling case for selection."When you have Yashasvi Jaiswal as the third opener in the T20 World Cup 2024, to remove someone from the World Cup squad and bring in Shubman Gill. I mean, it's okay, I am happy for Shubman, but I'm very sad for both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer. It is just not fair to these two kids," said Ashwin (via Hindustan Times)."Genuinely, I understand Shubman Gill's selection. He is also the vice-captain. He has scored a lot of runs for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL. He has credentials to be picked in the T20I setup," he added.While Gill was the fourth leading run-scorer in IPL 2025 with 650 runs, Iyer and Jaiswal were sixth and seventh, respectively, at better strike rates.