"That is not the criteria to be the captain" - Sandeep Sharma's scathing take on Team India star ahead of 2025 Asia Cup

Indian pacer Sandeep Sharma has said that captaincy in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cannot serve as a criterion to captain India in T20Is. The Rajasthan Royals cricketer said that a captain leading his side to the IPL final cannot merely make him a candidate to lead India in the shortest format of the game.

Sharma cited the example of how Suryakumar Yadav was not an IPL captain, yet was leading India in the T20I format. He told Crictracker:

"See, this debate that he as a captain took his team to the finals is senseless. Surya [Suryakumar Yadav] is not doing the captaincy of any franchise. So that is not the criteria to be the captain of the Indian side. And for the last three years, Rohit was not doing the captaincy of any franchise."

"But still, he was the captain of T20 Indian team and one day side is still the same captain. And he was the captain of all three formats of Tests. So that is not the criteria that what you do in IPL. IPL is totally different. It is a domestic league".

Sandeep Sharma also weighed in on India's squad for the Asia Cup 2025. He felt that the Men in Blue were not short on pace bowling options for the continental event. He added that the 15-member squad chosen for the tournament was a balanced unit.

"All these people have been doing so well over the years. Jasprit Bumrah, you can't say anything about him. Arshdeep, one of the best T20 bowlers for the last three years for India. And then Harshit Rana obviously has done so well in IPL and domestic circuit. So he obviously deserves the place. And fourth one is Hardik, which, you know, he gave that balance to the side. If he bowls four overs and batting, we all know that. So I think completely balanced side."

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Sandeep Sharma reacts to Prasidh Krishna missing out from India's Asia Cup 2025 squad

A notable omission from India's Asia Cup 2025 squad was that of Prasidh Krishna, who won the Purple Cap in IPL 2025. The pacer was one of five standbys picked for the tournament, starting on Tuesday, September 9, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Sandeep Sharma felt that selectors could not make everyone happy. He added that had Krishna been picked, questions may have been raised about the player who would have missed out. Sharma said:

"See, you can't make everyone happy. As a selector or if you're doing a job, so you can't make everyone happy. If you put Prasidh, then a lot of people come and say, put someone else. So I feel as a selector or when you're doing that job, you should be bothered about so many people."

"You should be bothered from yourself. You should be knowing that, yes, according to me, I have made the best team. After that, you should go and sleep peacefully. As I said, you can't make everyone happy".

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag and Washington Sundar were the other standby players picked with the 15-member squad. However, none of them have travelled with the main squad. India's first match will be against UAE in Dubai on Wednesday, September 10.