You know that feeling when a new Indian cricket squad is announced? The entire nation seemed to hold its breath. This is also true for the unveiling of India’s 2025 Asia Cup team. Everyone is talking about the fact that some of India’s best players were left out of India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025. It’s difficult to see a worthy player snubbed from India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025, but that’s just the way the game is, and the cricket community has undoubtedly been shocked by these exclusions.

4 Deserving Players Left Out of India’s Squad for Asia Cup 2025

On the surface, this squad looks stacked with talent – a mix of proven stars and some seriously exciting young guns. But let’s be real, the moment the final list came out, a lot of us were scratching our heads. When you have a talent pool as deep as India’s, you know someone deserving is going to miss out. But these particular snubs just feel brutal.

India player list for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy.

The selectors are known for being bold, but a few of these calls have sparked a debate that’s already getting pretty heated. It’s the kind of thing that gets fans and pundits going for weeks, and we’re here to dive right into the middle of the chaos. So, let’s unpack a few of these head-scratching omissions and the players who probably should have been on that plane.

Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer was snubbed from India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025 despite being one of the most reliable players in the league. He had been in incredible form all year, so this is truly a huge shock. In addition to having an amazing IPL 2025, he was India’s top run scorer in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 back in February. He dominated with the bat, scoring 604 runs at an insane strike rate of 175.07, and even led his team, the Punjab Kings, to the final.

Shreyas Iyer’s father said “I don’t know what else Shreyas has to do to make it to the Indian T20 team. He has been performing so well in the IPL year after year, from Delhi Capitals to Kolkata Knight Riders to Punjab Kings, and that too as a captain. He even captained KKR to the… pic.twitter.com/qoiIixKqVM

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 21, 2025

And it’s not just the big tournaments. He was also a key part of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy win, captained them to victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and even led SoBo Mumbai Falcons to the Mumbai T20 League final. In response to a question about it, head selector Ajit Agarkar only stated that Iyer “will have to wait for his chance,” which feels extremely unlucky for a player in this form.

Related Article：Why Shreyas Iyer Is Not in Asia Cup 2025 — Politics or Performance Snub?

Yashasvi Jaiswal

A player like Yashasvi Jaiswal, who played so brilliantly yet was left out of India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025, is easy to feel sorry for. He is a deserving candidate with a T20I strike rate of over 164, and his incredible IPL form. With stats like his, you’d think he’d be a shoo-in. But when you look at it from the selectors’ side, it’s not a simple choice. As chief selector Ajit Agarkar said, it’s a “good problem to have,” but it’s still a headache.

Test Ranking – 5th.
T20I Ranking – 10th.

YASHASVI JAISWAL IS THE ONLY CRICKETER TO BE IN TOP 10 IN BOTH TESTS & T20I 🤯 pic.twitter.com/fVnF7B9vUn

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 20, 2025

If you think about it, they selected Abhishek Sharma over him in part due to Abhishek’s bowling ability. The team gains additional flexibility as a result of this calculated action. Not to disparage Yashasvi, but it demonstrates how immensely talented Indian cricket is at the moment. He still made it to the list of stand-in players for the tournament, which goes on to show that the selection committee doesn’t entirely ignore his talent. Nonetheless, it’s not enough for the fans of the player and most of the cricket experts.

Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj is a powerhouse of a bowler who is a proven match-winner for the Indian side. He has been remarkable in his previous outings, both international and domestic. His recent series against England, in which he was a devastating force against their aggressive “Bazball” style of play, amply demonstrated this. In the end, he took the most wickets in the series after giving it his best.

To the man who made ‘Believe’ roar louder than ever! ❤️🤩🙌🏻#MohammedSiraj pic.twitter.com/EmMovKlgw3

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) August 8, 2025

It seems nearly inconceivable that he was snubbed from India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025 after that outstanding performance. That kind of performance should get you a position on any squad, in any format, right? But instead, the selectors went with Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana as the main pacers, with Prasidh Krishna as a backup. It’s a tough decision that demonstrates the current calibre of fast bowling skill in India.

The delight after taking a match-winning FIFER for your team 😁

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/Tc2xpWNayE#TeamIndia | #ENGvIND | @mdsirajofficial pic.twitter.com/kmTBvtOlaz

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 4, 2025

But still, many feel that instead of Rana, Siraj should have cut simply owing to his match-winning capabilities and a plethora of experience of battling it out in pressurising situations. For a player like Siraj, it must be disappointing, but he’s a huge part of India’s plans in the longer format.

Sai Sudharsan

It’s a bittersweet tale for Sai Sudharsan. Imagine having the greatest season of your life, doing everything you could, including earning the coveted Orange Cap in the IPL and amassing a mountain of 759 runs, only to have it fall short. That is currently the harsh truth of the talent pool in Indian cricket. There was an intense battle for a spot in the top order, and somehow, Sai ended up on the losing side.

𝘼 𝙎𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 🔥

7️⃣5️⃣9️⃣ Runs
5️⃣4️⃣.2️⃣1️⃣ Average
6️⃣ Fifties
1️⃣ Hundred

For his tremendous consistency, Sai Sudharsan is crowned with the coveted Orange Cap 🥇#TATAIPL | #RCBvPBKS | #Final | #TheLastMile | @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/hJEiRdRazF

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) June 3, 2025

Despite the selectors’ challenging choices, it is heartbreaking to see these extraordinarily gifted and diligent players left out of India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025. However, that doesn’t change the fact that everyone who made the squad deserved it in one way or another. For the time being, we should just respect their choices. The selected ones will be under tremendous pressure because the Asia Cup is a huge competition.