Asia Cup 2025: Aakash Chopra picks unselected India XI for continental competition, names Shreyas Iyer as captain

Published - 23 Aug 2025, 15:00 IST | Updated - 23 Aug 2025, 15:50 IST

Aakash Chopra picked a 16-man squad from the players who were not selected in India's side for the 2025 Asia Cup on Tuesday, August 19.

A lot of experts have criticised the BCCI selectors for leaving out players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer. Chopra kept the former as one of his openers, saying that he was a part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad last year and should have retained his spot on the grounds of continuity. The cricketer-turned-commentator picked Ruturaj Gaikwad to open alongside Jaiswal, mentioning his past achievements, including scoring a century against Australia.

"Let's start with Yashasvi Jaiswal. I feel his name should have been there in the Asia Cup squad as well because he was part of the T20 World Cup squad. If he was there, why not here, as continuity is spoken about?" Chopra said in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.

"Along with him, I have kept Ruturaj Gaikwad. He has been the Indian team's vice-captain and scored a century against Australia in Guwahati. He got injured in the IPL, but he is also a consistent performer. He is also someone who has completely disappeared from the scene," he added.

Chopra named KL Rahul as his No. 3 batter. The 47-year-old mentioned how Rahul can bat in different positions and keep wickets if required.

"At No. 3, I have thought of keeping KL Rahul. He can open and bat down the order, but No. 3 is not a bad number. If you ask him to play fast, he will do that. If wickets are falling from one end, and he is asked to manage, he can do that. He also does wicketkeeping, but we are not getting him to do that," he elaborated.

Chopra named Shreyas as the captain of the squad and Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper. They will bat at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar Reddy will bat at No. 6, as Chopra backed him to perform Hardik Pandya's role.

"I have kept Shreyas Iyer at No. 4 in my team and as a captain. At No. 5, I have got Rishabh Pant as a wicketkeeper-batter in my team. At No. 6, I have kept Nitish Kumar Reddy because he does the job Hardik Pandya does," Chopra observed.

Chopra went on to name Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar as the two seam-bowling all-rounders in his squad. While he backed Sundar to contribute with both bat and ball, he mentioned Pandya's exceptional performance in IPL 2025, where he played a crucial role in helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) seal victory.

As far as specialist bowlers are concerned, Chopra named Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj in his lineup.

"At No. 7 and No. 8, I am keeping Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar. Washi Sundar will give me overs, and he brings depth in my batting. The sort of IPL Krunal Pandya had, I think his name should be kept. I will keep Ravi Bishnoi at No. 9, although Yuzvendra Chahal's name could have also been there. At Nos. 10 and 11, I have kept Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj," Chopra observed.

Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Khaleel Ahmed were the five other players picked to complete Chopra's squad.

Aakash Chopra's unselected India XI for 2025 Asia Cup: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.