Test skipper Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah made the cut with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer the biggest omissions from the 15-man squad.
Defending champions India have named top order batter Shubman Gill and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in their Twenty20 squad for next month’s Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and middle order batter Shreyas Iyer, however, did not make Tuesday’s cut for the 15-member squad, led by Suryakumar Yadav.
Gill, India’s Test captain, has not played a T20 International since July last year when he was Suryakumar’s deputy on a tour of Sri Lanka.
“That’s where we started a new cycle,” said Suryakumar, who took over the T20 captaincy from Rohit Sharma after India won the 20-overs World Cup title last year.
“After that, he got busy with all the Test series, and he didn’t get an opportunity to play T20s because he was busy playing Test cricket and Champions Trophy,” Suryakumar told reporters.
“So he’s there in the squad, and we’re happy to have him.”
India also included Bumrah, whose recent workload has been a major concern for the team think tank, which played him in three of the five Tests in England in June and July.
No room for Jaiswal
With three opening options in Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, India could not accommodate Jaiswal.
“With regard to Yashasvi, it’s just unfortunate again,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said.
“There’s Abhishek Sharma – what he’s done over the last year or so, plus he can bowl a little bit. He gives us that option if required.
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“One of these guys was going to miss out, Yashasvi just has to wait for his chance.”
Samson and Jitesh Sharma are the two wicketkeepers in the side, which also includes left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
India begin their Group A campaign against hosts United Arab Emirates in Dubai before meeting archrivals Pakistan at the same venue four days later.
The Asia Cup 2025 begins on September 9.
India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill, 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