R Ashwin Slams Unfair Asia Cup Selection: Ravichandran Ashwin has voiced dismay at the omission of Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal from India’s squad for the Asia Cup 2025, suggesting the selectors may have undervalued two players he called “rare.”
The squad, finalised by chief selector Ajit Agarkar with T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, included Jaiswal only among the standbys. Iyer was overlooked altogether.
R Ashwin Slams Unfair Asia Cup Selection
Ashwin argued Iyer’s recent record demanded inclusion. He highlighted the middle-order batter’s role in India’s Champions Trophy triumph earlier this year, his run to 604 IPL runs at a strike rate of 175, and his leadership in taking Punjab Kings to their first final since 2014. “He overcame the short ball issue and scored against Rabada, Bumrah, the very best. It’s extremely sad he is not there,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Jaiswal’s case, he added, was no less compelling. The 23-year-old opener has already compiled 723 T20I runs at a strike rate of 164, and across formats has been among India’s most consistent debutants in recent years. “What more can a player do apart from excellence?” Ashwin asked.
The former off-spinner suggested that both Iyer and Jaiswal may suffer for their team-first approach. “They don’t play for themselves, they play for the side. But perhaps they’ll need to think about their own records to hold their place,” he remarked.
India’s Asia Cup squad will begin its campaign later this month, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli expected to open once again.
India Squad for Asia Cup 2025
- Surya Kumar Yadav ©
- 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
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