Star India player to lead Punjab in upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy in absense of Shubman Gill

Punjab announced their squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 (VHT 2025-26), which is scheduled to start tomorrow (December 24). Punjab will face Maharashtra for their opening match of the tournament. While the cricket governing body of Punjab has announced the full squad, their captain's name is yet to be unveiled. A day ago in the first match, there were some speculations about their captaincy role. 

With Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, and many other talented cricketers, the Punjab squad is looking for strong papers. But who will lead the team in VHT 2025-26? Undoubtedly, Shubman Gill is the most suitable person in the squad to be named as the captain.

It is reported that multiple star players, including Gill himself, could miss the first few matches of the tournament. Pacer Arshdeep Singh also may not be available for all of the matches. During the absence of Gill, Abhishek Sharma, the world’s No. 1 T20 batter, is likely to become the captain of Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. 

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Who will be the captain of Punjab in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26?

The 50-over tournament is going to be very crucial for Shubman as he dropped from the T20I squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. He will not feature in the India vs. New Zealand T20I series either. In the Twenty20 format, the batter's form was not convincing enough for a considerable amount of time. Still, he is the captain of the Test and ODI formats for India. As his recent form has become a major concern, he will have to try to produce his best. 

Punjab’s squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: 

Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Harnoor Pannu, Anmolpreet Singh, Uday Saharan, Naman Dhir, Salil Arora (wk), Sanvir Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Harpreet Brar, Raghu Sharma, Krish Bhagat, Gourav Choudhary, and Sukhdeep Bajwa.