India squad for Asia Cup: Major gaps and possible changes as report makes big claim on Gill, Siraj

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors are set to have a tough time when they meet on Tuesday (19 August) to pick the India squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. A tough time because a lot has changed in Indian cricket since the last time they played T20Is against England in January-February this year.

Shubman Gill, who was not a part of the T20I side, recently led the Indian Test team to a memorable 2-2 draw in England and is being seen as a frontrunner to make a comeback to the shortest format. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal could also come back. Similarly, Shreyas Iyer is touted by some as a certainty after guiding India to the Champions Trophy 2025 title win and the Punjab Kings to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 final.

Here’s a look at India’s last T20I squad: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Ramandeep Singh, Arshdeep Singh

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This squad is expected to see some big changes.

Gill, Siraj to miss out on Asia Cup?

Kuldeep Yadav, who missed the England T20Is due to a back injury, is expected to replace Ravi Bishnoi, or both spinners could come in, and Washington Sundar may replace Ramandeep Singh. Shami will not be a part of the squad as he is not fully fit, but Jasprit Bumrah is set to come back .

The openers – Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma – and Tilak Varma and Surykumar Yadav have sealed their spots in the top four. However, it will be interesting to see if Gill and Jaiswal are picked after an impressive Test series. Even if they are picked, will they straightaway get into the playing XI despite Samson and Sharma’s heroics?

A report in Cricibuzz says that while selectors may want to pick a third opener, Gill currently trails Jaiswal and none of them may get picked, or only Jaiswal might, unless Gambhir swings things in Gill’s favour.

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It also states that the hero of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, pacer Mohammed Siraj, may not get a call back to the T20Is.

Gaps in India’s T20I squad

And while selectors face the pressure of picking Gill, the two major spots to consider for them are that of an extra batter or an all-rounder and the third seamer. There’s little clarity on these two spots.

The third seamer could be one among Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna, as per Cricbuzz, while Arshdeep Singh is also a certainty.

Also, there’s room to include one more batter in the middle-order. In their last T20I, India had three all-rounders in the team – Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel. While Hardik and Axar don’t face any pressure, Dube may be dropped.

The selectors have a chance here to add Iyer to the squad, but in such a case, Rinku Singh, who was also a part of the XI against England, may drop to the bench, at least, as management may want to include an all-rounder like Sundar to the playing XI.

This is a big decision that the selectors have to make. If they decide to add a batter, players like Riyan Parag are also an option.

India’s possible Asia Cup squad: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill/Yashasvi Jaiswal/Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana/Prasidh Krishna, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh