"No chance of winning the T20 World Cup with this bunch" - Former India selector's massive statement on Asia Cup 2025 squad 

Former India opener and ex-chief selector Kris Srikkanth has opined that the Men in Blue have no chance of defending their T20 World Cup crown if they back the squad picked for Asia Cup 2025. Slamming the selectors over the 15-man squad picked for the eight-nation event in the UAE, he claimed that the team seems to be going backwards instead of moving forward.

Team India's much-awaited squad for Asia Cup 2025 was named on Tuesday, August 19 in Mumbai. Suryakumar Yadav was retained as captain, while Shubman Gill was handed a comeback and named vice-captain as well. While the likes of Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Harshit Rana were retained, there was no place for Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Prasidh Krishna. The latter two are part of the reserve players.

While making a blunt assessment on the 15-member Asia Cup 2025 squad, Srikkanth opined that India would fail to win the 2026 T20 World Cup if they pick a similar team. Speaking on his YouTube channel 'Cheeky Cheeka,' he said:

"We might win the Asia Cup with this team, but there is no chance of winning the T20 World Cup with this bunch. 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?"

The 65-year-old specifically questioned some of the selection moves for Asia Cup 2025. He elaborated:

"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."

Axar was named vice-captain for the home series against England earlier this year. However, skipper Suryakumar defended the decision to hand over the vice-captaincy to Gill, claiming that he was always the original choice for the role.

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"Who will bat at No. 5?" - Kris Srikkanth unsure of India's batting order for Asia Cup 2025

While reviewing India's Asia Cup 2025 squad, Srikkanth opined that the team lacks balance. Singling out the No. 5 spot, he stated that Shreyas Iyer's absence would weaken the middle-order batting. The 1983 World Cup winner elaborated:

'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?"

Both Dube and Rinku featured in India's five-match T20I series against England at home earlier this year. Dube scored 83 runs in two innings at a strike rate of 176.59. Rinku managed 39 runs in two innings at a strike rate of 121.87.