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Yashasvi Jaiswal Backed For Asia Cup As CSK Legend Highlights India's Selection Headaches

Debashis Sarangi

Yashasvi Jaiswal in action [Source: AFP]Yashasvi Jaiswal in action [Source: AFP]

Legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal to make it into India's squad for the Asia Cup 2025. Led by Suryakumar Yadav, India will take on Oman, UAE and arch-rivals Pakistan in the group stage of the tournament. 

The BCCI has yet to finalise India's squad for the marquee event. As the Men in Blue prepare for the Asia Cup, R Ashwin thinks Yashasvi Jaiswal should be one of the first-choice names in the team sheet. 

Ashwin Believes Jaiswal Should Be Picked For Asia Cup

In his brief T20I career, Yashasvi Jaiswal has amassed 723 runs at an average of 36.1 and a blistering strike rate of 164.3. However, despite his batting exploits, Jaiswal was rested from India's several recent T20I assignments, with the Gautam Gambhir-led think tank allotting the opening slots to Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. 

While addressing India's squad selection conundrum on his YouTube channel, Ashwin opined that there shouldn't be any doubts over Jaiswal's spot given that he was India's reserve opener for last year's T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. 

He further highlighted why Shubman Gill doesn't guarantee a place in the Asia Cup side, explaining the complications that the decision-makers might face regarding the selection of players like him and Shreyas Iyer, who performed admirably in the IPL 2025. 

“There are a few talking points regarding the Asia Cup. The first question that comes to everyone’s mind is whether Shubman Gill fits into the T20 plans because in the last World Cup, Yashasvi Jaiswal was the backup opener. So Jaiswal automatically gets a kick-in. Rohit Sharma is not going to be a part of that team, so Jaiswal automatically gets a look-in,” Ashwin was quoted as saying by Express Sports.
"Now, who is going to be that other opener? Shubman Gill had an outstanding series. Can he return to the squad? Sanju Samson has had a fabulous run as a T20 opener for India. So I think it is a tricky state for the selectors. Can Shreyas Iyer make a comeback? There is a lot of decision-making that the selectors have to make. Even if there is a lot to talk about, the Indian T20I side has been a successful unit,” he added. 

As per the latest reports, India's Asia Cup squad will be announced on Tuesday, August 19. While there are questions over Jaiswal's place, Gill could be one of the most prominent names to make a T20I comeback for the showpiece event.