R Ashwin slams Shreyas Iyer's omission from Asia Cup 2025 squad: 'How can you give answer for this?'
Former
Indian cricket
player
Ravichandran Ashwin
has voiced his concerns about the exclusion of
Shreyas Iyer
and
Yashasvi Jaiswal
from the Asia Cup squad.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (
BCCI
) has announced a 15-member team for the upcoming tournament, which begins September 9 in the UAE.
"Selection is a thankless job. You have to let someone out. When you talk to them, you have to go through that sadness and disappointment in their faces. I hope, someone has talked to Shreyas and Jaiswal," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel "Ash Ki Baat".
Iyer, who successfully led Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024, was not selected, along with young opener Jaiswal.
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"When you have Jaiswal as your third opener, you have brought
Shubman Gill
in the team by removing a person from the World Cup winning squad. I mean, I am happy for Shubman but I am very, very sad for both Shreyas and Jaiswal. It's just not fair on both," Ashwin added.
"Look at the credentials of Shreyas Iyer. He went out of the team. But came in the Champions Trophy and did amazing batting. He won and gave it to you. If the answer is that Shubman Gill is in blasting form, Shreyas Iyer is also in high-quality form.
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Jaiswal's innings on a tricky pitch in the last game in the Oval... he is also in cracking form. So, how can you give an answer for this? What Shreyas has done wrong... he did brilliantly well for KKR, made them win.
He was sent into the auction. He then took Punjab to the finals for the first time since 2014. He overcame the short ball problem. He was hitting the likes of Kagiso Rabada and
Jasprit Bumrah
with ease in the IPL. I am just extremely sad for him and Yashasvi Jaiswal; it is extremely unfair."
Iyer has represented India in 51 T20Is, scoring 1104 runs with an average of 30.66 and a strike rate of 136.12.
His last T20I appearance was against Australia in December 2023.
Iyer's IPL leadership record includes guiding Delhi Capitals to the playoffs in 2019 and their first final in 2020, before leading KKR to victory last year.
Former India assistant coach
Abhishek Nayar
has also criticized the selection decision.
"I can't fathom or understand what reason could justify Shreyas Iyer not being part of the 20-member squad," Nayar told JioHotstar.
"I'm not even talking about the final 15, but the 20 itself, which sends a clear message, that Shreyas Iyer is not in the selectors' scheme of things, at least from a T20 perspective."
Nayar suggests that Gill's appointment as vice-captain indicates future leadership plans.
"This squad announcement sort of tells you the mindset of the selectors. With selection of Shubman, in time, he is going to be an all-format captain, and that's where they are sort of positioning him.
Great pick, terrific player. I'm sure he's going to follow the mindset of being attacking, having that approach. And I feel it's going to be a very, very interesting next 12 months in Shubman Gill's life," he explained.
The selection committee has included pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah despite recent workload concerns, with a West Indies series approaching in early October.
"We all need to understand that Bumrah is a prized asset. He is the difference between winning and not winning a championship, and that must be respected," Nayar said.
"His workload and his body must be respected, because when you don't have him in crucial matches, the impact is massive. Whatever the plan is, no one knows it better than Bumrah himself. He'll be the best judge of what his body can handle and can communicate that with the selectors and team management. Knowing him and having spent time with him, I can tell you nothing matters more to him than performing well and winning championships for India.
"
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