Aakash Chopra picks his Indian squad for 2025 Asia Cup, chooses Shreyas Iyer ahead of Rinku Singh

Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked his Indian squad for the 2025 Asia Cup. He chose Shreyas Iyer ahead of Rinku Singh as a middle-order batter.

The 2025 Asia Cup will be played in the UAE from September 9 to 28. The selectors will pick the Indian squad for the continental T20 tournament on Tuesday, August 19.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India batter chose Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson as his first-choice openers.

"My first player is Abhishek Sharma. His numbers tell the story of him being a mighty player. The way he batted against England in Mumbai, it seemed like he is not just a brilliant player, he is one of the best in the world, and the ICC rankings also say that Abhishek Sharma is right at the top of the tree," Chopra said (2:50).

"The second is Sanju Samson. We have been crushing opponents, and in the last 12 matches, Sanju Samson has had a role - three centuries and 400-plus runs. Of course, he has had many zeroes and had a problem against the short ball, but is that a strong enough reason to leave him out? I don't think so," he added.

While picking Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively in his starting XI, Chopra noted that the duo can also swap positions.

"At No. 3, I have kept Tilak Varma. There is no guarantee that he will remain at No. 3 only. It will be a fluid situation. However, the numbers he has at No. 3, he has an average of nearly 50, struck back-to-back centuries against South Africa in South Africa, and his strike rate is also very high," the former India opener observed.

"Along with him, Suryakumar Yadav. It will be a shame on us if we talk about Suryakumar Yadav's numbers. He is our Mr 360, and has now returned to great form. I have kept Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4, but the batting order will be fluid," he added.

The cricketer-turned-commentator chose Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya to complete his top six.

"At the fifth position, I have kept Shreyas Iyer. He is in my team, and if I am keeping him, I will play him in the XI as well. I am lengthening my batting a little. Shreyas Iyer deserves to play now. If everything had gone right for him, he might have been in the captaincy race at the moment," Chopra elaborated.

"At the sixth spot, I have kept Hardik Pandya. Once again, fluid situation, anyone can bat anywhere. Hardik Pandya gives us bowling and batting. He is my game-changer. He is my World Cup winner. He is probably this team's most valuable player," he added.

While noting that Suryakumar Yadav would continue as captain, Aakash Chopra added that he wouldn't give the vice-captaincy to Hardik Pandya. He reasoned that Axar Patel had been appointed Suryakumar's deputy recently and should continue in that role.

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"He wasn't getting proper opportunities, so the selectors said they would make him the vice-captain" - Aakash Chopra on Axar Patel

Axar Patel was India's vice-captain in the T20I series against England. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra picked Axar Patel and Washington Sundar as the two spin-bowling all-rounders in his starting XI.

"At No. 7, I have kept my vice-captain Axar Patel. He has been made to bat up the order as well. He wasn't getting proper opportunities, so the selectors said they would make him the vice-captain as, if they did that, no one would drop him, and he would get to bowl as well," he said (7:20).

"After that, at No. 8, I have kept Washington Sundar. You have a lot of left-handed options from the start till here. So you can maintain a left-right combination whenever you want. I feel you should also have batting till No. 8 in T20 cricket. You get freedom when you have batting till No. 8," the analyst added.

The 47-year-old chose Varun Chakaravarthy as the specialist spinner in his first-choice XI.

"After that, I have three proper bowlers. I will give Varun Chakaravarthy a place first. He has been outstanding. He has some numbers which had never happened before. Most wickets in a series once, and then a second time. He has become accurate, has variations, bowls a little slow, and he has come back a phenomenal player," Chopra reasoned.

Chopra picked Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh as the two frontline seamers in his starting XI.

"After that, the two fast bowlers. I am hearing Bumrah is fit and available. He will play. If he says he doesn't want to play the Oman match, I am absolutely okay with it. However, I need you to lift the trophy. At No. 11, Singh is king. I think no one has taken more wickets than him in India's T20I history. So Arshdeep Singh completes my XI," he observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra chose Prasidh Krishna, Jitesh Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kuldeep Yadav to complete his 15-member squad.

Aakash Chopra's Indian squad for 2025 Asia Cup: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Jitesh Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav