Sports Desk, New Delhi. The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the Indian team for Asia Cup 2025 on Tuesday, 19 August. Shreyas Iyer was not given a place in this team. Not only this, Iyer's name was not even in the list of reserve players.
In such a situation, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra selected his alternate team for the Asia Cup and made Iyer the captain of the team. Aakash has given place to those players in his team, who have not been selected in the Indian team selected for the Asia Cup.
Yashasvi-Gaikwad will open
Aakash Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel, "Let's start with Yashasvi Jaiswal. I think his name should have been in the Asia Cup team as well because he was part of the T20 World Cup team. If he was there, why not here? Along with him, I have also included Ruturaj Gaikwad in the team. He has been the vice-captain of the Indian team and scored a century against Australia in Guwahati. He got injured in the IPL, but he is consistently performing well." KL Rahul gets a chance at number 3
Chopra said, "I have placed KL Rahul at number three. He can open and bat in the lower order. If you ask him to play fast, he will do that. If wickets are falling from one end and he is asked to handle it, he can do that. He also does wicketkeeping. I have placed Shreyas Iyer at number four in my team and as a captain. At number 5, I have given place to Rishabh Pant as a wicketkeeper-batsman. At number six, I chose Nitish Kumar Reddy." Siraj to lead fast bowling
Talking about the lower order, Aakash said, "I am keeping Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar at number seven and eight. They will bowl and give depth to the batting. The way Krunal Pandya has performed in IPL, I think he should be named. I will keep Ravi Bishnoi at number nine, although Yuzvendra Chahal's name could also have been there. I have kept Prasidh Krishna and Mohammad Siraj at number ten and eleven." Aakash gave place to Sai Sudarshan, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yuzvendra Chahal and Khalil Ahmed in his team.
Aakash Chopra's Alternate 11 for Asia Cup 2025
Yashsvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Rishabh Pant, Nitish Reddy, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammad Siraj.
Indian Squad for Asia Cup 2025
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakraborty, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Standby Players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal.