Mumbai: India’s announcement of its Asia Cup 2025 squad has sparked intense debate, not only for the strength of its core group but also for the shock exclusion of several star performers who were widely expected to feature prominently.
While Test captain Shubman Gill was appointed T20 vice-captain, replacing Axar Patel as deputy to skipper Suryakumar Yadav, the omissions of Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj have surprised many.
The 25-year-old Gill, whose last T20 International appearance was against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in 2024, earned his place following a prolific Test series against England, where he struck four centuries in the drawn five-match rubber.
His inclusion was widely anticipated, but the selectors’ decision to hand him the vice-captaincy added weight to his elevation in white-ball leadership.
“Gill’s form in England was something we expected but he exceeded it all,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said during the squad announcement press conference here.
However, Gill’s batting slot may be up for discussion as Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson have forged an effective opening pair. Agarkar insisted this was a “delightful problem of plenty” rather than a headache.
“There are more options (for the top order) now, and Shubman has been in great form anyway. When they get to Dubai, they can decide on the playing XI according to the opposition and the conditions,” the former pacer noted.
The team management could opt to push Samson down the order, where the Kerala batter has often featured, and let Gill reclaim his place at the top. Agarkar hinted at this possibility.
“Sanju was playing because Shubman and Yashasvi were not available at that point (and) so was Abhishek. (But) Abhishek’s performances clearly make it hard to leave him out. Plus, his bowling is handy,” he explained.
“Like I said, he (Shubman) was (the) vice-captain the last time he played T20 cricket. That was after the last World Cup so even at that point, clearly we were thinking along those lines. Now that he’s available, at least he (Suryakumar) has two options. It’s their headache to pick the batting line-up (now); ours was to pick the 15 and so. But we’ve got some real depth as far as T20 cricket is concerned and we are very happy with it,” he added.
Among the omissions, Iyer’s absence was the most striking. The IPL-winning captain had scored 604 runs at an average of 50.33 with a strike rate of 175 for Punjab Kings this year, guiding them to the final. His omission, not even as a standby, stunned many.
Agarkar defended the decision, saying it was “a numbers game” and “no player’s fault”, while admitting it was a particularly tough call in a crowded batting line-up.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, another in-form youngster who was part of India’s victorious T20 World Cup squad as a reserve, was also left out of the main fifteen despite finishing as Rajasthan Royals’ top run-scorer with 559 runs at an average of 43.00 and a strike rate of 159.71. He will travel as one of the five standbys. Selectors allegedly felt Abhishek Sharma’s all-round potential gave him the edge.
