Gambhir's Favourite And? Undeserving Inclusions In India's Squad For Asia Cup 2025

Anurag Dasgupta

Gautam Gambhir, Harshit Rana & Shubman Gill (Source: AFP Photos)Gautam Gambhir, Harshit Rana & Shubman Gill (Source: AFP Photos)

The India squad for the 2025 Asia Cup was revealed on Tuesday, and the selectors disclosed a strong team for the upcoming event set to commence next month. The core of the team has been retained by the Ajit-Agarkar led selection panel, and the Men in Blue will enter the tournament as the favourites to win the trophy.

However, despite picking a strong team, there have been a couple of baffling decisions made by the selection panel. These selections could ruin the playing combination of Team India, and here are 3 such players, who shouldn't have been picked in the squad.

1) Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill last played a T20I game against Sri Lanka in July 2024, and since then, the Indian team has gone a different route. Coach Gautam Gambhir's eventual philosophy was to create an attacking lineup, where every batter had an attacking mindset. However, Gill's T20I numbers tell a completely different story.

Criterion
Data
Matches21
Runs578
Strike rate139.27
50s/100s3/1

(Gill's numbers in T20Is)

  • As the data suggests, Gill has all the talent in the world, but the batter has a strike-rate of less than 140 in the T20Is. While the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and even Sanju Samson strike at over 150, Gill's ability to shift gears in this format is questionable.
  • Plus, with Gill being the vice-captain, he is a sure-starter in the playing XI, and that means the lineup gets disrupted. Gill is likely to bat at his favourite opening slot, and that would mean one of Abhishek or Samson might have to surrender their spot. The duo of Abhishek and Samson has done well in the last year, but that could all change in Asia Cup.

2) Harshit Rana

More than Gill, the inclusion of Harshit Rana has turned out to be a baffling decision by the selectors. One of Gautam Gambhir's favourite from his KKR days, Harshit has just played a solitary T20I game for India, and there were others who were ahead in the pecking order.

Last IPL season's Purple Cap winner, Prasidh Krishna was neglected, and the IPL 2025 stats tell how much of an impact Krishna had over Rana.

Criterion
Harshit Rana
Prasidh Krishna
Matches1315
Dismissals1525
Average29.8719.52
Economy10.188.27

(Harshit vs Prasidh in IPL 2025)

  • Prasidh clears Harshit in all departments in IPL 2025, and despite a stellar season, he was ignored by the selectors, and a bowler who conceded runs at 10 runs per over was picked.

3) Shivam Dube

Shivam Dube's inclusion has also created buzz, but in the wrong way. Post his 2022 IPL exploits, Dube was brought back in the India T20I team, but despite a couple of key knocks, his performances in recent times, especially in IPL is a worrying sign for the Indian side.

Criterion
Data
Matches14
Runs357
Strike rate132.22
50s/100s1/0

(Dube stats in IPL 2025)

  • In sluggish wickets at the Chepauk, he struggled for runs, and had a strike rate of just 132.22. Similarly, in the UAE, teams are expected to get tricky wickets, which would be sluggish. Hence, Dube's inclusion in the side doesn't make sense. India could have gone in with Shreyas Iyer, who is a better player in UAE conditions.