Asia Cup: Samson vs Jitesh, the absence of Shreyas Iyer and Bumrah's workload

Mint

5 hours ago

India's title defence of the T20 World Cup is still a year away, but the journey begins now with the Asia Cup. The squad picked by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel covers many bases but also raises some interesting questions.
India's Asia Cup squad: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Standbys: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
As with all strong teams, there will always be players left out who feel hard done by. Good teams invariably have more contenders than spots available. Even so, this selection still raises some interesting questions.
Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma perform very different roles in the batting line-up. Samson is most effective at the top of the order, while Jitesh has built his reputation with lower-order heroics. Who gets the nod will depend on the team structure India prefers in their XI.
The return of Shubman Gill as vice-captain suggests he is almost a certain starter. If Gill plays, Samson's place could come under threat, as India is unlikely to field all three of Abhishek Sharma, Gill, and Samson. Agarkar has already indicated that Abhishek, with his batting and the additional option he provides with the ball, is the first-choice opener.
As a result, through no fault of his own, Samson may find himself on the bench, with India's top six comprising Abhishek, Gill, Tilak, Suryakumar, Hardik, and Jitesh.
In IPL 2025, Shreyas Iyer unveiled a revamped T20 game that impressed everyone. He became a high-intent, high-consistency, high-impact run-scoring machine, piling up 604 runs at an average of 50 and a strike rate of 175. He finished as the sixth-highest run-getter, and no one in the top five had a better strike rate.
On those numbers alone, you would expect him to walk into any Indian squad. But when asked about Iyer's exclusion, Agarkar said: 'You'll have to tell me who he can replace… Again, no fault of his. Nor is it ours. It's just that you can pick only 15, and at the moment he'll have to wait for his chance.'
To answer Agarkar's question, based on IPL form, Shreyas could easily slot in ahead of Gill or Tilak if only top-order batters are considered. He also led Punjab Kings impressively, nearly delivering the franchise its first IPL title.
What's more intriguing is that Shreyas hasn't even been named among the standbys, with Riyan Parag preferred ahead of him. While Parag is undoubtedly a promising talent, his best IPL season in 2024 doesn't compare to Shreyas's 2025 campaign. And in this year's IPL, Parag endured a middling season, averaging 32.7 at a strike rate of 166.5. Those numbers were inflated by a single explosive knock of 95 off 45 balls against KKR; without it, his returns fell to an average of 27 and a strike rate of 156.
Shreyas Iyer's missing out on the 15-man squad is surprising. His absence even from the standbys is astounding. But for him to be overlooked when Riyan Parag has been picked instead is, frankly, shocking.
The selectors have quelled any pointed fingers at India's greatest match-winner by naming him in the squad. Any team, in any format, is stronger with Jasprit Bumrah in it. But given the stresses and injuries he has already endured, India would be wiser to manage his workload and preserve him for marquee tournaments, rather than risk killing the goose that lays the golden egg.
The selectors and team management must believe Bumrah is sufficiently rested after the England Test series to handle the demands of a shorter T20 tournament. His inclusion allows India to field a full-strength attack, with Bumrah, Arshdeep, Kuldeep and Varun all in the XI. Even if that slightly weakens the batting, this is a bowling unit capable of stifling any line-up in the world, and winning tournaments
Looking ahead, India's home Test series against West Indies begins on 2 October, just four days after the Asia Cup final on 28 September. Whether or not India makes the final, the tight scheduling suggests Bumrah may miss that series. It also underlines the selectors' priorities: With a T20 World Cup defence looming next year, they are prepared to place T20 cricket above a less marquee Test series, a fair call.