India has announced its team for the highly anticipated Asia Cup 2025 in the UAE. With some veterans, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, already announcing their retirement from T20 internationals, this begins a new era in Indian cricket. While there are some fresh faces, such as Shubman Gill, who is made vice-captain, and Suryakumar Yadav as captain, some big names are left out.
5 largest exclusions from India’s Asia Cup 2025 team, and who replaced them
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Replaced by: Shubman Gill
One of India’s most promising young stars in all formats, Yashasvi Jaiswal, has been unexpectedly excluded from the T20I team for the Asia Cup 2025. His omission seems to have come at the expense of Shubman Gill, who has not played a T20I for more than a year but has still received the recall and vice-captaincy.
Jaiswal’s forceful batting and recent performances at the international level had everyone expecting him to be a first-choice selection, and hence, this is one of the most controversial omissions in Indian cricket right now.
Prasidh Krishna
Replaced by: Jasprit Bumrah
Even though he is the top wicket-taker of IPL 2025, Prasidh Krishna manages to get only a spot in the reserves for the Asia Cup. The selectors have preferred to choose Jasprit Bumrah, whose workload management has been a worry in the last few years.
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With the UAE being bowling-friendly and also considering the history of Bumrah getting injured, there are many who feel that Krishna deserved a direct entry into the main team.
Washington Sundar
Replaced by: Axar Patel
Washington Sundar is a reliable all-rounder and valuable option in T20 cricket both as a bowling option and lower order hitter. That said, India have toyed with the idea of or have brought an all-rounder in, with perhaps Axar Patel being preferred ahead of Sundar with his own all-round abilities and experience as a vice-captain throughout past series.
Sundar has very good performances against England recently, so to leave out Sundar could be of significance to this England team in conditions conducive to spin.
Riyan Parag
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Replaced by: Rinku Singh
Riyan Parag, one of the emerging stars of the Rajasthan Royals and one of the leading lights in IPL 2025, has been overlooked for the Asia Cup team. Rinku Singh has been selected in his place, presumably as a reward for his death-over finishing capabilities in T20s.
Rinku Singh also brings another explosive factor in the dying overs of a T20, Parag’s omission leaves India one middle-order option shy of ,reserved, versatility and potential leadership.
Shreyas Iyer
Replaced by: Abhishek Sharma
Arguably the biggest shock to be omitted is Shreyas Iyer, who captained the Punjab Kings to the final of IPL 2025 and finished as one of the leading run-getters of the tournament. But he’s been omitted in favour of Abhishek Sharma, who had an outstanding IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The selectors are obviously betting on younger, more flashy players, but Iyer’s consistency and leadership qualities would have brought experience to the side.
Other Other Significant Omissions from India’s Asia Cup 2025 Roster
Apart from the five top omissions, the following six players were in the running but failed to make the cut or the reserves:
Dhruv Jurel
Sai Sudharsan
Tushar Deshpande
Nitish Kumar Reddy
Mayank Yadav
Ramandeep Singh
Shahbaz Ahmed
India’s Squad for Asia Cup 2025
Suryakumar Yadav (Captain)
Shubman Gill (Vice-Captain)
Hardik Pandya
Arshdeep Singh
Abhishek Sharma
Tilak Varma
Shivam Dube
Axar Patel
Jitesh Sharma
Jasprit Bumrah
Varun Chakravarthy
Kuldeep Yadav
Harshit Rana
Rinku Singh
Sanju Samson
Asia Cup 2025 team marks the changing times for Indian T20 cricket, with many youngsters stepping into the limelight. Yet, the exclusions of the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, and Shreyas Iyer cast tremendous doubts over selection priorities and planning for the future.
Cricket enthusiasts will be observing with interest to watch how the chosen team fares and if the dropped stars will push their way into contention before the T20 World Cup 2026.
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