Aakash Chopra picks India’s alternate XI for Asia Cup 2025, names Shreyas Iyer as captain

A 15-member squad of Team India has been announced for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side, while in a surprising move, Shubman Gill has made a comeback to the T20I setup, and that too as vice-captain.

However, several notable names missed out. Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal failed to get a place in the squad. Jaiswal has managed to find a place in the reserves list of five players, but Iyer was not even considered for that list.

Now, speaking on his YouTube channel, former India cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra came up with an alternate playing XI of Team India for the upcoming tournament. In his top three, he picked Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad as the openers, followed by veteran batter KL Rahul at number three.

"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. "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.

"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 added.

Chopra mentioned Iyer as his captain. Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to IPL glory in 2024 and then guided his new franchise, Punjab Kings, to the IPL final in 2025. Even while playing for his state side, Mumbai, he showed leadership qualities. Along with him, Chopra picked Rishabh Pant as his wicketkeeper and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy to play the finisher’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,” he said.

For his bowling department, Chopra chose two pacers, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj, along with three spinners — Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, and Krunal Pandya. Both Sundar and Pandya are spin-bowling all-rounders who can also strengthen the batting 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," he concluded.

Apart from these 11 players, Chopra also named Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, and Yuzvendra Chahal in his alternate 15-member squad for the Asia Cup.

Aakash Chopra's alternate Playing XI of Team India 

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Reddy, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.

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