Suryakumar to lead India; Gill elevated as vice-captain as BCCI names Asia Cup 2025 squad

News Network

August 19, 2025

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India's squad for the Asia Cup 2025 on Tuesday, with Suryakumar Yadav continuing as captain. Surprisingly, Shubman Gill was elevated as the team's vice-captain in the shortest format, replacing Axar Patel.

The selection meeting was held at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, though a long delay was witnessed due to the late arrival of a few members because of extreme weather conditions in the city. There was no place for Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the team despite their top performances in the shortest format. Mohammed Siraj also missed the cut.

Shubman Gill's promotion as the team's vice-captain poses a unique challenge for head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav as the batter will be expected to be a certain pick in the playing XI. In such a case, there arrives a big question mark over Sanju Samson's batting position.

After the T20 World Cup 2024, Samson and Abhishek Sharma opened for India in T20Is and did very well. But now, Gill could be seen opening alongside Abhishek at the top, pushing Sanju to the No. 3 position, which was occupied by Tilak Varma earlier.

Along with the 15-member team, a total of 5 reserve players were also picked for the Asia Cup, keeping the bench ready in case of injuries or other issues.

Quite surprisingly, Shreyas Iyer wasn't picked even among the 5-member reserve team that the BCCI selection committee cheif Ajit Agarkar named during the press conference. Iyer was backed by many former India stars, including Ravichandran Ashwin, to feature in the playing XI at the Asia Cup. But, he doesn't even feature in the top 20 for the selection committee.

India's Asia Cup 2025 Squad: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh

Reserve players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel

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RuTAGe smart village centres in DK, Udupi to being technology closer to rural communities

News Network

January 20,2026

Mangaluru: In a major step towards strengthening rural innovation, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India is supporting the establishment of RuTAGe Smart Village Centres (RSVCs) across the country through collaborations with academic institutions, civil society organisations and philanthropic partners.

As part of this national initiative, Nitte (Deemed to be University) will set up the first RSVCs in the region at Nitte GP in Udupi district and at the Nitte Health Centre, Sevanjali Trust, Farangipete, in Dakshina Kannada district. The centres will be inaugurated on January 21. In South India, the programme is being implemented by the Section Infin-8 Foundation (SI-8).

Speaking to reporters on Monday, SI-8 founder-director Vishwas US said experts from Nitte University and SI-8 would work closely with farmers, students, youth and local entrepreneurs to adapt and deploy technologies tailored to local needs.

Project head Prof Iddya Karunasagar, representing Nitte DU, said the RSVCs at Nitte and Farangipete would serve as demonstration hubs for a wide range of agriculture, energy, skill-development and assistive technologies. These include solar dryers for fruits, vegetables and crops; soil-testing solutions; power weeders and women-friendly farm tools; wind-powered devices for rural artisans; grain storage systems; grass-cutting and tree-climbing equipment; and liquid fertiliser production using cowshed waste.

SI-8 CEO Aravind C Kumar said the centres would also provide access to digital and knowledge-based platforms such as ISRO applications, government scheme portals, market linkage tools and gamified learning resources, along with assistive technologies for persons with visual impairments.

Highlighting the broader impact of the initiative, Principal Scientific Adviser Prof Ajay Kumar Sood said it demonstrated how applied research could bridge the rural–urban divide and help create self-reliant, technology-enabled villages.

The initiative has been made possible through philanthropic support from Dr NC Murthy of ACM Business Solutions, LLC, USA. Dr Sapna Poti, Director (Strategic Alliances) at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, said the long-term objective is to build self-sufficient, technology-driven communities capable of generating sustainable livelihoods on their own.

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