Manoj Tiwary said that Gautam Gambhir prefers working with leaders who follow his commands without asking questions, and it is an open secret. Shubman Gill selected as India's opener in the Asia Cup 2025 Gill has been selected as one of the openers in Team India for the ongoing Asia Cup 2025. He made his comeback to the side on the back of a historic show with the bat in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 and was named T20I vice-captain. Gill captained India in the Test series against England and led the team from the front, scoring 754 runs at an average of 75.40. He has been consistent with the bat for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but didn't play much T20I cricket for India last year because of his focus on ODIs and Tests. However, the selectors saw the Asia Cup 2025 as a good opportunity to recall him to the T20I setup and handed him a leadership role, which guaranteed him a slot in the playing XI. Gill's selection led to Sanju Samson being forced to bat in the middle-order, and he has been opening the innings with his childhood friend Abhishek Sharma. He has been outstanding in the IPL - Manoj Tiwary on Shubman Gill Meanwhile, Manoj Tiwary lauded Gill for his heroics in the Indian Premier League (IPL) both as a batter and captain. "Shubman Gill is equally good, he has done that, and shown that in the IPL as well. He has been outstanding in the IPL, he has been a good captain in the IPL, where he has taken more responsibility, and the role has been given to him," Tiwary said in an interview with Inside Sport. Notably, the decision to demote Sanju Samson in the batting order after Shubman Gill's return didn't sit well with many, as the Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman was performing brilliantly as an opener for India in T20Is since last year. It's an open secret that he wants a captain who wants to listen to him - Manoj Tiwary on Gautam Gambhir Even though Manoj Tiwary lauded Shubman, he was not totally satisfied to see him breaking the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, who did wonders for India. He said that the head coach Gautam Gambhir played the major role in bringing Shubman Gill into the T20I setup and handing him the vice-captaincy. "But, you have to see that before Gill was in the squad, in Zimbabwe we saw Abhishek Sharma and Samson, we then saw them producing starts against Bangladesh, which we never imagined as a cricket fan. Team India had never shown that kind of approach in a T20 game. "So, when these two individuals have given you the performances and the starts, they both have been superb, they have scored hundreds, then why do you want to change that up here and bring Shubman Gill? The reasons are well known, it's an open secret that he wants a captain who wants to listen to him," Manoj Tiwary added.