Shubman Gill vs Yashasvi Jaiswal: R Ashwin Makes Bold Asia Cup 2025 Squad Prediction

The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is all set to pick the India squad for the Asia Cup 2025, with a number of bold decisions reportedly set to be taken. There are reportedly different opinions over the selection of Shubman Gill, India's newly-crowned Test captain in the T20I squad despite the splendid Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign he had for the Gujarat Titans. Only one of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswaly will seemingly be picked for the Asia Cup. For former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, that player has to be Jaiswal.

Ashwin feels Rohit Sharma's absence from the T20I format instantly opens the door for Jaiswal. But, the veteran spinner can't say the same for Gill, who has the Indian cricketing spectrum divided over his potential return to the shortest format.

"There are a few talking points regarding the Asia Cup. The first question that comes to everyone's mind is whether Shubman Gill fits into the T20 plans because in the last World Cup, Yashasvi Jaiswal was the backup opener. So Jaiswal automatically gets a kick-in. Rohit Sharma is not going to be a part of that team, so Jaiswal automatically gets a look-in," said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.

Several reports have suggested that India's opening pair for the Asia Cup will be Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. However, Ashwin feels Jaiswal is a certain pick in the team. There, however, is a tricky choice for the selection committee to make when it comes to picking one batter between Sanju Samson and Shubman Gill.

"Now, who is going to be that other opener? Shubman Gill had an outstanding series. Can he return to the squad? Sanju Samson has had a fabulous run as a T20 opener for India. So I think it is a tricky state for the selectors," he added.

With Samson being a wicket-keeper, it is all but certain that he will be named in India's Asia Cup squad. However, it's tough to say the same about Gill.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Shubman Gill Yashasvi Jaiswal Sanju Samson Ravichandran Ashwin Asia Cup 2025 Cricket