Asia Cup squad selection scheduled for next week; SKY likely to remain T20I captain - Report

The BCCI men’s selection committee will pick the squad for the forthcoming 2025 Asia Cup (in the UAE), in Mumbai, next week. The eight-team tournament, to be played in the T20 format, will get underway on September 9, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi hosting all matches. While India is placed in Group A alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Oman and the host UAE, Group B consists of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. The Indian Cricket Board, however, has a tedious task to pick the best 15 for the continental tournament, with Suryakumar Yadav expected to assume his captaincy duties in the shortest format despite several rumours.

Per a Times of India (TOI) report, the men’s selection committee will meet in Mumbai next Tuesday (Aug 19) to pick Team India’s 2025 Asia Cup squad. T20I captain SKY will fly from Bengaluru, where he is stationed at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), recovering from a sports hernia surgery, to be part of the meeting.

"Yes, the team for the Asia Cup will be picked on Aug 19 in Mumbai. The selection committee meeting will be followed by a press conference by chief selector, former India pacer Ajit Agarkar," a source in the BCCI said on Thursday, as quoted by TOI.

No Jaiswal, Iyer for 2025 Asia Cup

The report also states that the selection headache could see some of the top names missing out on Asia Cup squad selection, including newly-appointed Test captain Shubman Gill, attacking opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and two-time IPL finalists Shreyas Iyer. While the selectors wish to persist with the successful opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson for now, they have to make some tough calls regarding two potential future white-ball captains.

As for Jaiswal, the selectors are reported to have told him to concentrate more on red-ball cricket as he remains out of contention for the Asia Cup squad selection.

"In fact, with India looking to persist with the opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, Gill is currently struggling to even make it to the side. Even Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had a great series in England, and middle-order bat Shreyas Iyer are likely not to be picked for the T20 side. Jaiswal has been told by the selectors to focus on red-ball cricket," a source revealed.

Meanwhile, India will open their 2025 Asia Cup campaign against the UAE on September 10 in Dubai.