Why Shreyas, Yashasvi and KL Rahul not selected in Team India for Asia Cup 2025?

India has announced its 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, which will be held in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from September 9 to 28. The team will be captained by Suryakumar Yadav, with Shubman Gill named as vice-captain. Jasprit Bumrah returns to the squad after being excluded since the 2024 T20 World Cup.

The squad includes a mix of experienced and young players, with notable exclusions such as Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul.

Know why these three were not included in the Asia Cup?

1. Shreyas Iyer: Iyer had a brilliant IPL 2025 season, scoring 604 runs at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175.07, even taking Punjab Kings to the final. But despite this, he was not picked for the national team. The selectors said it wasn’t because of bad form, but because the team already has similar players in his batting position, like Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, and Hardik Pandya. He wasn’t even named as a backup, showing how strong the competition is and how settled the current team looks.
2. Yashasvi Jaiswal: Jaiswal has been left out of the main 15-member India squad for the Asia Cup 2025. Despite his impressive IPL 2025 performance, scoring 559 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of about 160, he was not selected in the playing squad. The chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained that Jaiswal’s exclusion is unfortunate but necessary because of the presence of other openers like Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, and Sanju Samson. Abhishek Sharma’s ability to also bowl gave him an additional edge, which meant one of the openers, in this case, Jaiswal, had to miss out. Jaiswal has been named among the standby players for the tournament, meaning he may be called upon if needed.
3. KL Rahul: KL Rahul was also left out despite scoring 539 runs in 13 innings in IPL 2025 with one century and three fifties. Reasons cited include his lack of recent T20 International game time and a cautious batting approach in previous international tournaments, which has made selectors look beyond him for the T20 setup.

The exclusion of Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and KL Rahul from India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad has fired broad surprise and debate among fans and experts alike. The Asia Cup promises to be a thrilling contest, and the team that takes the field will no doubt be eager to showcase their best cricket to claim glory in the region.

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