Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant might not be part of the 2025 Asia Cup team. Word is that the team is not looking at them for the shorter format with the 2026 T20 World Cup in India just a few months away.
According to a report in the Indian Express, Jaiswal and Pant are not in the plans for T20s. Shubman Gill’s spot is also uncertain. But the Indian Test captain could return, maybe as the team’s vice-captain in T20s.
The BCCI senior selection committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar, will announce India’s Asia Cup team around August 19 or 20. This will happen after the Centre of Excellence’s (CoE) Sports Science team gives an update on the players’ health. This includes news on captain Suryakumar Yadav, who has started practicing batting at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, as reported by PTI.
Jasprit Bumrah, India’s top fast bowler, will play in the Asia Cup. But he might sit out the first Test of the West Indies tour in early October. Gill recently led India in Tests and scored 754 runs against England. Jaiswal and Gill opened together in the 3-0 win against Sri Lanka last year. Since then they haven’t played in the shortest format as the team decided to rest Test players from T20s.
The Indian T20I team has done well recently, winning series against Bangladesh, South Africa and England. Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Tilak Verma have been the top order batsmen. With Suryakumar batting at number four, the top order seems set.
Pant’s T20I record is not great, 1209 runs in 76 games at 23.09. So his exclusion wouldn’t be a surprise. The 27-year-old also had a poor 2025 IPL season, scoring 269 runs in 14 matches at 24.25. He is also injured right now, having fractured his foot in the Test series against England.But leaving out Jaiswal would be surprising as his T20I record is good. He has 723 runs at 36.15 and 164.32. In the 2025 IPL he was the only consistent batter for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a poor season, scoring 559 runs at 43 and 159.71. So his exclusion is a talking point among fans and experts. They are wondering if the team is making the right call or if they should reconsider Jaiswal for his explosive batting.
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Looking ahead the team’s strategy for the 2026 T20 World Cup is becoming clear. By picking specific players and resting others the selectors are trying to build a balanced team. Only time will tell if these choices will work on the field. The Asia Cup will be the test.
India’s Asia Cup Squad (Likely):
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana/Prasidh Krishna, Jitesh Sharma/Dhruv Jurel
