3 players who were unlucky to miss out on India's squad for Asia Cup 2025 ft. Shreyas Iyer

India's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup was announced on Tuesday, August 19. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Suryakumar Yadav addressed a press conference in Mumbai following the announcement.

The duo tried to justify their reasoning for some notable exclusions, but some of it arguably proved hard to understand. Since then, news outlets have been quick to point out contradictory statements uttered by head coach Gautam Gambhir in the past, perhaps hinting at a lack of consistency in the selection process.

India's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

On that note, here are three Indian players who were unlucky to miss out on the squad for the 2025 Asia Cup.

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#3 Shreyas Iyer

2025 IPL: Qualifier 2 - Punjab Kings v Mumbai Indians - Source: Getty

Shreyas Iyer led the Punjab Kings to the final of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). Throughout the competition, the skipper was in incredible form with the bat, playing a number of world-class knocks that showcased his improved ability.

Having made significant improvements to his game against pace, Shreyas was barely troubled by the opposition bowlers in the league. The right-handed batter also maintained his spin-hitting ability, emerging as one of the most well-rounded options in the country.

However, Shreyas hasn't been picked even in the standbys for the Asia Cup. Agarkar claimed that there's no one in the squad who he can replace, but the likes of Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh haven't covered themselves in glory in recent times.

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#2 Prasidh Krishna

2025 IPL - Gujarat Titans v Lucknow Super Giants - Source: Getty

India weren't going to pick a lot of fast bowlers for a tournament in the UAE, especially when Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav seem all set to play in tandem. Jasprit Bumrah's availability also reduced the chances of the Men in Blue trying out the second-string bowlers.

However, even then, they arguably erred by picking Harshit Rana ahead of Prasidh Krishna. Rana endured a rough campaign in IPL 2025, going at more than 10 runs an over while not taking a great deal of wickets. He also hasn't been a fixture in the side in the shortest format.

Prasidh, meanwhile, was sensational for the Gujarat Titans. He finished with the Purple Cap and recovered towards the end of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy to make a match-winning contribution in the decisive final Test. Clearly in some of the best bowling form of his life, the 29-year-old certainly deserved to be tried out in the Asia Cup 2025.

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#1 Yashasvi Jaiswal

2025 IPL - Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals - Source: Getty

One of the best T20 batters in the country, Yashasvi Jaiswal strangely finds himself out of both white-ball squads at the moment. India opted to pick Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Shubman Gill as their three opening options, consigning the Rajasthan Royals opener to the standbys.

It's arguable that Jaiswal deserved a spot in the squad ahead of Gill, although the latter is a world-class batter with immense potential as well. The left-hander has barely put a foot wrong in T20I cricket, and he's quite well-rounded against all styles of bowling.

Jaiswal and Abhishek are probably India's best opening combination in the format, but the former hasn't even made the 15-man squad.

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