On Tuesday, August 19, India’s 2025 Asia Cup team was revealed. After the announcement, skipper Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar spoke at a press conference in Mumbai.
The team attempted to describe their reasoning for certain major exclusions, although some of it was difficult to understand. Since then, media outlets have been quick to highlight head coach Gautam Gambhir’s inconsistent past remarks, which may indicate that the selection process is inconsistent.
India’s squad for the 2025 Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
On that point, here are three Indian players who were unlucky not to make the 2025 Asia Cup roster.
1. Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer also led the Punjab Kings to the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) final. The captain showed brilliant form with the bat in the competition and he demonstrated his improved ability with some global knocks.
Shreyas had improved his game against pace so much that the rival bowlers in the league seldom gave him any trouble. As one of the most versatile choices in the nation, the right-handed batter also kept up his ability to hit with spin.
Shreyas hasn’t made the cut for the Asia Cup squad, not even as a standby. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar noted that changes could still be made if required, but recent form hasn’t helped players like Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh either.
2. Prasidh Krishna
With the Asia Cup set in the UAE, India were unlikely to load up on pacers. The return of Jasprit Bumrah meant fewer chances for backups, especially as the team looks ready to pair Varun Chakaravarthy with Kuldeep Yadav in the spin department.
Even yet, selecting Harshit Rana over Prasidh Krishna may have been a mistake on their part. In the IPL 2025, Rana had a difficult season, scoring over 10 runs per over and not taking many wickets. In the shortest format, he hasn’t been a mainstay in the team either.
On the other hand, Prasidh played impressively to the Gujarat Titans. He returned after taking the Purple Cap to enable his team win the Anderson- Tendulkar Trophy in the final Test of a gruelling match. The 29 year old, who is not doubtlessly in some of his better bowling prowess is worthy of an opportunity to play in the Asia Cup 2025.
3. Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal, one of the top T20 hitters in the nation, oddly does not currently appear in any white-ball squad. India decided to bench the Rajasthan Royals opener in favor of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Shubman Gill as their three opening alternatives.
Even though Gill is a top-tier batter with a ton of talent, it could be argued that Jaiswal should have been included in the team before him. The left-hander is quite well-rounded against all bowling styles and has hardly made a mistake in T20I cricket.
Although Jaiswal and Abhishek are perhaps India’s greatest opening duo in the format, the former hasn’t even been included in the team of 15 players.
