Former India opener and chief selector Kris Srikkanth has come down strongly on the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee following the announcement of India’s squad for the T20 Asia Cup 2025. According to Kris Srikkanth, the selectors have failed to give due importance to Indian Premier League (IPL) performances while choosing the team.
Kris Srikkanth has said India will fail to defend its T20 World Cup title next year with the team selected for Asia Cup 2025. After India announced their squad for the Asia Cup 2025, which begins on September 9 in the UAE, former India opener and selector Kris Srikkanth shared a bold assessment. While he believes the Men in Blue are strong enough to win the Asia Cup with the current squad, he was categorical in saying that “there is no chance” they can win the 2026 T20 World Cup with the same group of players.
India announces a strong team for Asia Cup 2025
Defending champions India have announced their 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup in the UAE. Suryakumar Yadav will captain India in next month’s Asia Cup as the team looks to clinch a record-extending ninth title. The squad features several major changes from the side that lifted last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, with the return of some big names adding further strength.
Jasprit Bumrah makes his return to India’s white-ball setup for the first time since the 2024 T20 World Cup. The pacer, who has only featured in Test cricket since last year’s T20 World Cup final, was rested from limited-overs assignments and also missed the ICC Champions Trophy due to injury.
India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Reserves: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal
In the batting department, the selectors have placed their faith in the young trio of Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh, all of whom have enjoyed breakthrough performances over the past year. They will be complemented by the experience of Suryakumar, while the line-up also welcomes back Shubman Gill who last featured in a T20I for India more than a year ago in the series against Sri Lanka.
Sanju Samson is set to take charge as India’s first-choice wicket-keeper, having formed a promising opening partnership with Abhishek in the past 12 months. Jitesh Sharma will provide backup options, with both players making their return to the T20I squad after more than a year.
Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel will continue as India’s premier all-rounders, having played pivotal roles in the team’s T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy triumphs. They will be joined by Shivam Dube to further strengthen the all-round department.Bumrah will lead the bowling unit alongside the 2024 ICC Men’s T20I Player of the Year Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana.
Varun Chakravarthy will head India’s spin department following his stellar performances in the UAE during the Champions Trophy, and he will be complemented by Kuldeep Yadav, making his first T20I appearance since the 2024 World Cup final.Despite the team looking well balanced, Srikkanth expressed his displeasure with a few selections.
Former selector Kris Srikkanth slams the selectors and Team management on India squad selection for Asia Cup 2025
Former India selector and batter Kris Srikkanth believes India has gone ‘backwards’ with their Asia Cup 2025 squad selection. Soon after the Ajit Agarkar-led committee announced the squad on Tuesday, he said even if this team wins the ACC tournament, it won’t be good enough to defend the T20 World Cup crown next year.
Kris Srikkanth’s major apprehension was with the selections of Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, and Harshit Rana. Rinku is the team’s designated opener since his excellent showing in IPL 2023, while Dube and Rana got into the side with consistent performances in IPL 2024. But all three were out of form in the recent 2025 edition.
Kris Srikkanth also took exception to removing Axar Patel from the team’s vice-captaincy for Shubman Gill, who hadn’t played any T20 cricket since 2024.
“We might win the Asia Cup with this team, but there is no chance of winning the T20 World Cup with this bunch,” Kris Srikkanth said in a video on his YouTube channel, as quoted by Sportskeeda.
“Are you going to take this team to the World Cup? Is this the preparation for the T20 World Cup, which is hardly six months away? They have gone backwards. Axar Patel has been axed from vice-captaincy. I don’t know how Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Harshit Rana have come in. IPL is considered the main criteria for selection, but the selectors seem to have considered performances before that.” continued Kris Srikkanth
Srikkanth believes that the team lacks a natural number five. In the team’s last T20, Dube batted at that spot and scored 30 off 13 with India putting up 247/9.
“Who will bat at No. 5? Five has to be either Sanju Samson, Jitesh Sharma or Shivam Dube or Rinku Singh. Hardik Pandya usually bats at No. 5, so now, Patel Axar cannot bat at six. I can’t understand how they picked Dube. Yashasvi Jaiswal have performed in international cricket and IPL as well. What does he do?” Kris Srikkanth said.
India’s group fixtures in the Asia Cup:
10 September – UAE v India, Dubai
14 September – India v Pakistan, Dubai
19 September – India v Oman, Abu Dhabi
Super Fours
20-26 September in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Final
28 September in Dubai
India have been placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, UAE, and Oman, and will begin their campaign against the UAE on September 10. Group B consists of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong.
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