Asia Cup 2025 Indian squad announced, prominent names missing

Dubai: With the Asia Cup in the UAE marking the start of India’s long build-up to defending their T20 World Cup crown, the selectors sent out a clear message on Tuesday — it’s time to back a young core while ensuring leadership stability, bringing Shubman Gill back as vice-captain alongside skipper Suryakumar Yadav.

The 15-man squad, announced in Mumbai, saw notable omissions in Washington Sundar, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mohammed Siraj, while teenage prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi was once again kept away from the senior fold despite the clamour for his inclusion. Gill, who last played a T20I in Sri Lanka following India’s World Cup triumph in June 2024, returns in a leadership role after a year dominated by his exploits in Tests.

“First big tournament after last year’s T20 World Cup. It’s a good tournament to test ourselves. A lot of T20s after this also. The journey starts from here,” skipper Suryakumar Yadav said at the squad unveiling.

The return of Gill gives India a third opening option alongside Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma, but the management appears keen to use the 25-year-old in the No. 3 slot — a position that Virat Kohli occupied with distinction in India’s World Cup-winning run in the West Indies. His presence lends stability at the top of the order, while also giving India a player capable of shifting gears in the latter half of the innings.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar defended the exclusion of Shreyas Iyer, who finished IPL 2025 with 604 runs and was instrumental in India’s Champions Trophy win earlier this year. “Again, no fault of his. Got to tell me who he can replace? At the moment, he will have to wait for his chance,” Agarkar said.

Sai Sudharsan, the top-scorer in IPL 18, also missed out, not even finding a spot among the reserves, as the squad is already stacked with opening options. Jaiswal, who has lit up the Test arena with his attacking batting, had to make way for Abhishek Sharma, whose recent all-round contributions and left-arm spin tipped the balance in his favour. “It’s unfortunate… one of these guys was always going to miss out,” Agarkar admitted.

Sundar’s omission was another talking point, given the spin-friendly conditions in the UAE. His versatility as an off-spinner and lower-order batter might have come in handy, but the selectors opted to stick with mystery and wrist-spin variety in Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, alongside the experience of Axar Patel. “He will always be in the scheme of things… for now, we felt we needed an extra batter in Rinku,” Agarkar explained.

Varun, who claimed nine wickets in three matches during the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year, could once again find conditions in Dubai to his liking. The spinner, however, stressed that he is ready for both helpful and batting-friendly surfaces. “One factor out of many is ground conditions, and I hope they favour us. But I am also used to bowling when the wickets don’t offer much, like in the IPL,” he said recently.

While Suryavanshi, still only 18, remains outside the squad, his progress continues to be monitored closely by the think-tank. The youngster has already trained at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru this month in preparation for India U-19’s tour of Australia in September, and his name is expected to surface again in the lead-up to the next World Cup.

The Asia Cup, beginning on September 9, will be India’s first major outing since their Champions Trophy success and a critical dress rehearsal before the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka next year. For Gill, Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube, it is an opportunity to establish themselves as central figures in the next phase of India’s white-ball cricket.

India will open their Asia Cup campaign against UAE on September 10, in Group A that also includes Pakistan and Oman.

India squad for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Stand-byes: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.