Asia Cup 2025: Five big names who missed India's flight to UAE

Asia Cup 2025: Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj miss out from India's 15-member squad

The announcement of India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad brought elation for some and heartbreak for others. While fresh faces and in-form stars sealed their places, a few high-profile names — despite strong credentials — found themselves sidelined.

 

Here are the five big omissions that have sparked debate:

 

Shreyas Iyer: Runs, leadership, but no ticket

 

Shreyas Iyer’s absence is perhaps the most talked-about. Having last played a T20I in 2023 against Australia, his recent IPL heroics were expected to open the door for a comeback. Iyer piled up 604 runs at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175, even guiding his franchise to the final. Yet, the selectors looked elsewhere, leaving one of India’s most prolific run-getters on the bench. 

Shreyas Iyer batting career record
Format	Matches	Innings	Runs	Balls faced	Highest score	Average	Strike Rate	Not out	Fours	Sixes	Fifties	Hundreds
Test	14	24	811	1287	105	36.86	63.02	2	94	16	5	1
ODI	70	65	2845	2845	128	48.22	100	6	262	72	22	5
T20	51	47	1104	811	74	30.67	136.13	11	90	44	8	0
IPL	132	132	3731	2798	97	34.23	133.35	23	314	152	27	0

 

 

Yashasvi Jaiswal: From World Cup reserve to Asia Cup reject

 

The omission of Yashasvi Jaiswal raised eyebrows, too. The young left-hander was part of India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2024 as a reserve opener, but failed to find a place this time. He ended IPL 2025 as Rajasthan Royals’ highest scorer with 559 runs at 43.00 and a strike rate of 159.71, numbers that seemed enough to warrant inclusion. Still, his name was missing when the final 15 were revealed. However, he is among the five players named as standbys for the continental tournament. 

Yashasvi Jaiswal batting career record
Format	Matches	Innings	Runs	Balls faced	Highest score	Average	Strike Rate	Not out	Fours	Sixes	Fifties	Hundreds	Double hundreds
Test	24	46	2209	3336	214	50.2	66.22	2	270	43	12	6	2
ODI	1	1	15	22	15	15	68.19	0	3	0	0	0	0
T20	23	22	723	440	100	36.15	164.32	2	82	38	5	1	0
IPL	66	66	2166	1417	124	34.38	152.86	3	258	92	15	2	0

 

 

  Washington Sundar: The surprise exclusion

 

All-rounder Washington Sundar’s exclusion came as a shock. With his ability to control games with the ball and contribute handy runs, Sundar was seen as a natural fit in the UAE conditions. His recent showing in the Test series against England only underlined his growing maturity, but the selectors chose to go in a different direction. 

Washington Sundar batting career record
Format	Matches	Innings	Runs	Balls faced	Highest score	Average	Strike Rate	Not out	Fours	Sixes	Fifties	Hundreds
Test	13	24	752	1607	101	44.24	46.8	7	67	17	5	1
ODI	23	15	329	394	51	23.5	83.51	1	24	10	1	0
T20	54	22	193	159	50	13.79	121.39	8	16	9	1	0
IPL	66	45	511	405	49	15.97	126.18	13	42	16	0	0

 

Sundar Bowling Career Summary
Format	Matches	Innings	Balls bowled	Runs conceded	Wickets	Average	Economy	Strike Rate	Best Bowling in innings	Best Bowling in Match	Five-wicket haul	10-wicket haul
Test	13	22	1618	911	32	28.47	3.38	50.56	7/59	11/115	1	1
ODI	23	20	828	669	24	27.88	4.85	34.5	3/30	3/30	0	0
T20	54	52	975	1128	48	23.5	6.94	20.31	3/15	3/15	0	0
IPL	66	63	1119	1436	39	36.82	7.7	28.69	3/16	3/16	0	0

  Prasidh Krishna: Purple Cap, yet no place

 

Prasidh Krishna’s case adds to the intrigue. The pacer was in outstanding form during IPL 2025, finishing as the Purple Cap holder with 25 wickets from 15 matches. He also featured in the Test series against England, proving his versatility across formats. Still, despite being one of the most lethal new-ball bowlers this season, he finds no mention in India’s Asia Cup squad. 

Prasidh Krishna bowling stats
Format	Matches	Innings	Balls bowled	Runs conceded	Wickets	Average	Economy	Strike Rate	Best Bowling in innings	Best Bowling in Match	5w	10w
Test	6	11	960	756	22	34.36	4.72	43.64	4/62	8/188	0	0
ODI	17	17	794	742	29	25.59	5.61	27.38	04/12/25	04/12/25	0	0
T20	5	5	120	220	8	27.5	11	15	3/41	3/41	0	0
IPL	66	66	1499	2191	74	29.61	8.77	20.26	4/30	4/30	0	0

   

 

Mohammed Siraj: England hero left behind

 

Perhaps the biggest shock is Mohammed Siraj’s omission. The pacer played a decisive role in India’s series win against England, producing match-winning spells in the final Test. In IPL 2025, he added 16 wickets to his tally, further solidifying his reputation as a strike bowler. Yet, when the squad list was unveiled, Siraj’s name was conspicuously absent. 

Mohammed Siraj bowling stats
Format	Matches	Innings	Balls bowled	Runs conceded	Wickets	Average	Economy	Strike Rate	Best Bowling in innings	Best Bowling in Match	Five-wicket haul	10-wicket haul
Test	41	76	6419	3820	123	31.06	3.57	52.19	6/15	9/190	5	0
ODI	44	43	1975	1708	71	24.06	5.19	27.82	6/21	6/21	1	0
T20	16	16	348	452	14	32.29	7.79	24.86	4/17	4/17	0	0
IPL	108	108	2300	3349	109	30.72	8.74	21.1	4/17	4/17	0	0

 

The bigger picture: India T20 cricket future

 

The five omissions underline the abundance of talent in Indian cricket today. Iyer’s run-machine form, Jaiswal’s attacking flair, Sundar’s all-round value, Krishna’s wicket-taking consistency, and Siraj’s Test-match heroics would walk into most teams. But India’s selectors opted for balance, versatility, and present team combinations over reputations.

 

As the Asia Cup approaches, the debate will rage on: did India leave too much talent on the sidelines, or is this the price of having a talent pool that runs deeper than ever before?