The Indian Cricket team will be next seen in action in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 which is scheduled to be played from September 9 to 28 in UAE. The Indian squad for the upcoming tournament is expected
to be out soon and the fans are wondering which players will be taking charge for Men in Blue in the shortest format. There are also rumours coming that India’s Test captain Shubman Gillis also likely to return in the shortest format in the upcoming Asia Cup.
Apart from that, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who last played a T20I match in July 2024, is also in contention to get picked for the Asia Cup 2025. However, there has been a lot of debate whether both Gill and Jaiswal will be seen opening together or not. Reacting to this, former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin shared his verdict on who should be India’s first choice opener for Asia Cup 2025.
Rohit Sharma is not in T20I team, so Jaiswal automatically gets a look-in
In a video on his YouTube channel ‘Ash ki Baat’, R. Ashwin shared his thoughts on the debate for the first-choice Indian opener ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup in UAE. The former cricketer feels that, after Rohit Sharma’ retirement from the shortest, Yashasvi Jaiswal who was a backup opener in the T20 World Cup 2024, should automatically get selected as first-choice opener for the Asia Cup 2025. He also stated that, with Sanju Samson’s brilliant records in the T20I’s last year, it could be a headache for the selectors to pick between him and Shubman Gill as an opening batter.
“There are a few talking points regarding the Asia Cup. The first question that comes to everyone’s mind is whether Shubman Gill fits into the T20 plans because in the last World Cup, Yashasvi Jaiswal was the backup opener. So Jaiswal automatically gets a kick-in. Rohit Sharma is not going to be a part of that team, so Jaiswal automatically gets a look-in,” said Ashwin on YouTube.
“Now, who is going to be that other opener? Shubman Gill had an outstanding series. Can he return to the squad? Sanju Samson has had a fabulous run as a T20 opener for India. So I think it is a tricky state for the selectors," he further added.
