India, Nov. 20 -- Shubman Gill has been asked to shoulder plenty of fresh responsibility in 2025, a year which has seen him take over captaincy from Rohit Sharma in both the 50-over and Test match formats. Gill was already a significant member of the Indian team in the two longer formats of the sport, and was the instinctive choice as a long-term captain.

However, the real surprise for Gill stemmed from his inclusion in the T20I team, as he was drafted in for the triumphant Asia Cup campaign. Gill is no doubt a top-class T20 batter, as the weight of his IPL runs show, but there were some raised eyebrows given the calibre of openers who were arguably better suited to the format.

It became clear to many that Gill's inclusion stemmed from ...