Shreyas Iyer Named Captain In India's Asia Cup Alternate Squad Picked By Ex-Star
Asia Cup 2025 is set to be played in the United Arab Emirates from September 9 to 28.
- Former India batter Aakash Chopra picked his alternate squad for the Asia Cup, naming Shreyas Iyer the captain
- He also picked Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Reddy and Krunal Pandya
- Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj completed Chopra's alternate Asia Cup XI
The Board of Control for Cricket in India on August 19 announced a 15-member squad as well as five reserves for the Asia Cup 2025, starting September 9. Among the major misses in the main squad were Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal. While the southpaw managed to find a place at least in the reserves, Iyer was not even kept there. Former India batter Aakash Chopra picked his alternate squad for the Asia Cup, naming Iyer the captain of the side.
"Let's start with Yashasvi Jaiswal. I feel his name should have been there in the Asia Cup squad as well because he was part of the T20 World Cup squad. If he was there, why not here, as continuity is spoken about?" Chopra said in video on his YouTube channel.
"Along with him, I have kept Ruturaj Gaikwad. He has been the Indian team's vice-captain and scored a century against Australia in Guwahati. He got injured in the IPL, but he is also a consistent performer. He is also someone who has completely disappeared from the scene.
"At No.3, I have thought of keeping KL Rahul. He can open and bat down the order, but No. 3 is not a bad number. If you ask him to play fast, he will do that. If wickets are falling from one end, and he is asked to manage, he can do that. He also does wicketkeeping, but we are not getting him to do that.
"I have kept Shreyas Iyer at No. 4 in my team and as a captain. At No. 5, I have got Rishabh Pant as a wicketkeeper-batter in my team. At No. 6, I have kept Nitish Kumar Reddy because he does the job Hardik Pandya does.
"At No. 7 and No. 8, I am keeping Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar. Washi Sundar will give me overs, and he brings depth in my batting. The sort of IPL Krunal Pandya had, I think his name should be kept.
"I will keep Ravi Bishnoi at No. 9, although Yuzvendra Chahal's name could have also been there. At Nos. 10 and 11, I have kept Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj."
Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yuzvendra Chahal and Khaleel Ahmed are the remaining players picked by Chopra to complete his 15-member squad.
Aakash Chopra's alternate India XI for 2025 Asia Cup: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant, Nitish Reddy, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.
India Cricket Team