Indian pacer Sandeep Sharma reckoned that captaincy in the Indian Premier League cannot serve as a criterion to captain India in T20Is. The Rajasthan Royals cricketer Sandeep Sharma said that a captain leading his side to the IPL final cannot and should not make him a candidate to lead India in the shortest format of the game.
Sandeep Sharma cited the example of how Suryakumar Yadav was not an IPL captain, yet he was leading India in the T20I format.
Sandeep Sharma’s views on the criteria to be India captain
Speaking to Crictracker, Sandeep Sharma said: “See this debate that he as a captain too his team to the finals is senseless. Surya 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.”Â
He further added: “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.”Â
Sandeep Sharma’s thoughts on India’s Asia Cup 2025 squadÂ
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 sub-continental event. He added that the 15-member squad chosen for the tournament was a balanced unit.
Sandeep Sharma said: “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 cricket. So he obviously deserves the place. And the 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.”Â
Sandeep Sharma’s thoughts on Prasidh Krishna missing out on squad for Asia Cup
There was a notable omission from India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad and that was of Prasidh Krishna, who won the Purple Cap in IPL 2025. The pacer was one of the five standbys picked for the tournament, starting on Tuesday, September 9th in the United Arab Emirates.
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. He 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.”Â
He further added: “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.”Â
For the record, 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 10th.
So, the stage is set for Asia Cup 2025 as it is just a few days away. Most teams are doing their preparations by playing multiple series while India have started to have training sessions and are raring to go as they will play on 10th against UAE. We shall see how the team performs on this big stage and can they make the whole nation proud or not.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: Aakash Chopra Lauds Gautam Gambhir’s White-Ball Tenure So Far.