'I'm happy for Gill, but sad for Iyer': Ravi Ashwin reacts after Shreyas Iyer's Asia Cup snub

India's T20I squad for the upcoming Asia Cup tournament was finally unveiled to the public on August 19. It was a moment of joy and relief for those who managed to make it to the squad. While for some, it was a moment of sheer despair and agony. Despite repeated stellar performances in the shortest format, Shreyas Iyer was agonizingly left out of the squad. Apart from him, Indian all-format specialist opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was the other star batter to miss out. 

Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin criticized the selection and questioned the logic behind excluding Iyer and Jaiswal. While speaking on his YouTube channel Ash Ki Bat, Ashwin expressed his disappointment, terming Iyer's exclusion "sad" and "unfair". Moreover, he also spared a thought for Jaiswal too and questioned the management's motive behind leaving him out.

“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’m very, very sad for both Shreyas and Jaiswal. It’s just not fair on both. 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.”

See also: Former Indian batting coach unveils his strongest XI from announced squad for Asia Cup 2025

Iyer and Jaiswal omitted despite stellar performances in recent matches

It is worth mentioning that both Iyer and Jaiswal have been hard done by. The management had to make some tough selection calls to select the best team for the marquee tournament. The duo has not been left out due to a wrongdoing on their part. This claim was further confirmed by Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar, who commented that the batting stalwart will have to wait for his chance. 

Iyer has been a genius in the shortest format. His exploits in the IPL are second to none. His standout performance was with KKR, when he took them to an emphatic title win in the 2024 season. A year later, he found himself on the cusp of a rare milestone of winning two consecutive IPL title wins. But that reality never came to the fore as RCB went on to register an unbelievable title win in the final. As for Jaiswal, the Mumbai-based opener is coming off a stellar run from the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series, where he smashed two centuries (one of which came during the decider) and averaged a healthy 41.  Besides, his numbers from the T20I format are equally impressive. The 23-year-old already has a T20I century under his belt and averages an impressive 36.15 after 22 innings. 

With Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, and Tilak Varma waiting in the wings with explosive strike rates, breaking into such a star-studded lineup was always going to be a tricky challenge. 

Asia Cup Squad for Team India

India’s squad for Asia Cup: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh

Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel