Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has stated that opener Yashasvi Jaiswal deserves a guaranteed spot in India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad. With Rohit Sharma retired from the format, Ashwin believes Jaiswal should be an automatic choice, especially since he served as the backup opener in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
R. Ashwin also acknowledged the challenge selectors face in choosing the second opener, mentioning on his YouTube channel, Ash ki Baat:
“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.”
“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. Can Shreyas Iyer make a comeback? There is a lot of decision-making that the selectors have to make. Even if there is a lot to talk about, the Indian T20I side has been a successful unit”.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s T20 Stats
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal made his T20I debut for India against the West Indies in August 2023. Over the past two years, he has played 23 T20Is, scoring 723 runs at a strike rate of 164.31, including a top score of 100. His most recent T20I appearance was against Sri Lanka in July 2024.
Jaiswal has also become a crucial player for his IPL team, the Rajasthan Royals. The 23-year-old has amassed 2,166 runs in 67 matches at a strike rate of 152.85, with 15 fifties and two centuries. He was among the Royals’ retained players ahead of the November 2024 mega auction.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
