Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that there is a question over Test skipper Shubman Gill’s place in the T20I squad for the Asia Cup, but with Yashasvi Jaiswal being the backup opener for the T20 World
Cup last year, he will automatically find a place in the squad.
Ashwin
has admitted that selectors find themselves in a tricky position as far as picking the second opener is concerned.In India’s last T20I series against England, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma opened the batting, but neither Gill nor Jaiswal were part of the squad, having been rested after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“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,” Ashwin said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
“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. Now, who is going to be that other opener? Shubman Gill had an outstanding series,” Ashwin added.
“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. Can Shreyas Iyer make a comeback? There is a lot of decision-making that the selectors have to make,” Ashwin said.
Earlier on Saturday, August 16, India received a boost when reports emerged that skipper Suryakumar Yadav had cleared a fitness test.
Jaiswal made his T20I debut for India against the Windies in August 2023. In the last two years, he has played 23 T20Is and scored 723 runs at a strike rate of 164.31 with a best score of 100.
Jaiswal has emerged as a key cog in the wheel for his IPL team Rajasthan Royals. He has scored 2166 runs in 67 games at a strike rate of 152.85 with 15 half-centuries and two centuries.
