Former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has expressed surprise at some of the decisions taken by All India Men’s Senior Selection Committee chief Ajit Agarkar for the forthcoming Asia Cup 2025. While Shubman Gill returned as vice-captain for the T20Is, teenager Yashasvi Jaiswal was left out, despite his steady performances since his debut.
Ashwin stated that Jaiswal’s omission has created concerns, implying that the setback may cause the left-handed opener to reconsider his strategy.
According to him, being neglected may encourage Jaiswal to play for personal goals rather than the team, affecting his natural attacking approach.
“As Jaiswal got a chance in Test cricket, he took it with both hands. Easily the most successful Test batter that has made debut for India in recent past. He excelled in whatever format you gave him his opportunity to play and what else can one do other than excellence? He excelled and lost his chance in that slot,” said Ashwin on his YouTube Channel.
“Now, he has to go back to the drawing board again but I really wish him well for getting a shot at it. The point is, Jaiswal didn’t lose any opportunity there was even a leadership role left over from him. Then now only one more slot remaining which will be Abhishek Sharma’s spot where they have to fight each other,” he added.
The former India off-spinner also highlighted Jaiswal’s impressive strike rate in the shortest format, emphasizing that the opener consistently plays for the team rather than personal milestones. Despite this, he faced the setback of being overlooked to make way for Gill in the T20I squad.
“He has a strike rate of 165 [164.31] in this format as well. It is very difficult to find someone like Jaiswal because he doesn’t play for himself sometimes. I have seen many such batters who don’t even play themselves and Shreyas too. They do not play on their own, the ball is there to hit they will take that chance. For average players it’s less but more so when it comes down to strike rates or scoring goals. Such brand of players took quite some time to get into India,” said Ashwin.
“That’s a big thing you are saying. No, we have to save our own space and it is an unfortunate thing that T20 has become one of those places,” he concluded.
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