Is the Unselected XI Actually Stronger than India’s Asia Cup Squad?

The Asia Cup 2025, set to be played in the United Arab Emirates, will start from 9 September 2025, and fans will finally see the Indian team in T20 action after a long time. The team last played against England in a T20I series even before the Champions Trophy, and had a lengthy gap to play their next T20I game.

Between India’s last T20I series and the Asia Cup, a number of events happened, such as India winning the Champions Trophy, RCB winning the IPL, India having a draw against England in the Test series, and a lot more. Due to such reasons, fans started to make speculations about the players who could make it to the Indian team in the Asia Cup.

When the squad was announced, various names from the England series in January-February were found, but there were a few notable inclusions too. Players like Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, Jitesh Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, and many more will finally be making their comeback to the T20 side after missing action in this format for the Indian team.

Although the Indian squad looks strong, fans still think there have been players whom the team missed out on for the Asia Cup. Let’s take a look at the unselected XI of India’s Asia Cup team, and the question is whether this team could have been a better option for the Asia Cup or not?

Top Order

Several players were in contention for the top order of the team, but all of them definitely couldn’t make it to the squad.

Yashasvi Jaiswal

Yashasvi Jaiswal at the opening spot could be the best option to have in this unselected XI, as he has been an explosive batsman in the T20 format. Having played 23 T20I matches for the Indian team, Jaiswal has scored 723 runs at an average of 36.15, with a century and 5 half-centuries.

In IPL 2025, Jaiswal displayed some phenomenal performances for the Rajasthan Royals, which put him in contention for the opening spot. He ended up scoring 559 runs in 14 matches at an average of 43, with 6 half-centuries. However, he missed out on the Asia Cup squad, but was a part of the team in the Tests against England.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

After ruling himself out of the IPL 2025, Ruturaj Gaikwad has been looking forward to ways in which he could make a comeback to the Indian team. He suffered an injury in the initial stages of IPL 2025, but still managed to score 122 runs in 5 matches for CSK, including two half-centuries.

But his performances for India in the T20I format have been promising, as Gaikwad has also played 23 matches and scored 633 runs at an average of 39.596, with a century and four half-centuries. He played his last T20I series against Zimbabwe in 2024, and since then has been excluded from the team.

KL Rahul

If a player is good at opening, he can be Rohit Sharma; if he is good at first down, it can be Virat Kohli; if he is good in the middle order, he can be Hardik Pandya. But there is one player who is able to dominate across all batting positions, it is the one and only KL Rahul. It should be noted that Rahul has been missing from the Indian team in the T20 format for a long time.

Once seen as India’s best T20 batsman, has now not been a part of the team in the shortest format of the game for almost three years. In the IPL 2025 edition, Rahul had a stellar show, scoring 539 runs in 13 matches at an average of 53.90, including a century and three half-centuries. This was followed by his stellar show against England in the Test series, but he still missed out on the team.

Middle Order

Moving to the middle order, fans might think that the actual Indian squad for the Asia Cup does have a strong middle order, including players such as Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and many more. On the other hand, a few even think that the team missed out yet again on some explosive stars in the shortest format of the game.

Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer, also known as Sarpanch Saab, has been India’s star performer in the limited-overs format, and reportedly, BCCI is also seeing him as a future leader. But his repeated exclusions from the Indian team have been questionable, as Iyer is able to deliver stellar performances in every league or tournament he plays in.

Iyer has been an integral part of the Indian team in the T20 team, having scored 1104 runs in 51 matches at an average of 30.66, with 8 half-centuries. He was among the top run scorers in IPL 2025, scoring 604 runs in 17 matches at an average of 50.33, with 6 half-centuries, including a magnificent 87-run knock against the Mumbai Indians in the Qualifier 2.

Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant, who was a part of the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup 2024, is also not a part of the squad for the Asia Cup. His exclusion from the team has not been on the basis of his performance, but his injury. Rishabh Pant suffered an injury in his foot during the Test series against England, due to which he is set to miss out on action for the next few months.

Pant has played 76 T20I games for India, scoring just 1209 runs at an average of 23.25, with 3 half-centuries. But in his last T20 match, Pant dominated with the bat, scoring 118 runs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where he also brought his famous celebration.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

At number six, the team would have their first all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy, who is also a promising youngster for the team. Although he has played just a few games for the Indian team in the T20I format, he has shown intent and is known to be the next big thing in Indian cricket. Despite playing in the T20I series against England, Nitish missed out on the Asia Cup.

He has played 4 T20I games for India, scoring 90 runs at an average of 45, including a half-century, and even took 3 wickets at an average of 23.66 runs per wicket. However, Nitish was not able to contribute well towards SRH in the IPL 2025 season, as he scored just 182 runs in 11 innings at an average of 22.75, while taking 2 wickets in 3 innings at an average of 23.50.

Shardul Thakur

Another Indian all-rounder who showcased some impressive performances in the T20 format, Shardul Thakur, will be missing out on the Asia Cup. He was once a crucial part of the Indian team in the shortest format of the game, but it should be noted that he has not played any T20 international game since his last against Bangladesh in 2023.

In the T20 format, Shardul Thakur has played 25 matches and taken 33 wickets at an average of 23.39, but his economy stood high at 9.15 runs per over. Although he leaked runs, Thakur was able to provide the needed wickets to the Indian team across the shortest format of the game. Playing for LSG in the recent IPL season, he took 13 wickets in 10 games at an average of 28.84.

Lower Order

Now comes the main part of the unselected eleven, which includes its key bowlers. This category not just covers the bowlers who can take wickets even in the shortest format of the game, but also restricts the scoring rate of the opposition, while being able to contribute with the bat.

Krunal Pandya

A name that every Indian fan wanted to see in the Indian team for the Asia Cup was Krunal Pandya, who was the real game-changer for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2025. Being the brother of Hardik Pandya, fans wanted to see the Pandya brothers dominate together for the Indian cricket team, but it seems that we might have to wait even more.

Playing 19 T20I matches for India, he has taken 15 wickets and also scored 124 runs, but he played his last match in 2021. However, he dominated in IPL 2025, taking 17 wickets for RCB in 15 matches at an average of 22.29 and an economy rate of just 8.23 runs per over. Along with that, Krunal Pandya was also the Player of the Match in the final clash against Punjab.

Ravi Bishnoi

One of India’s most talented leg spinners, Ravi Bishnoi, would again be missing out on playing for the team in a tournament. He also played in the T20 series against England, but unfortunately, he has been dropped in place of Kuldeep Yadav for the Asia Cup.

Having played 42 T20I games for India, Ravi Bishnoi has secured 61 wickets at an impressive average of 19.37 and an economy rate of just 7.35 runs per over. His performances in the recent IPL season were also not up to the mark, as he took 9 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 44.55, and an economy of 10.83 runs per over.

Mohammed Shami

Known for the big events, Mohammed Shami would again be missing out on the Asia Cup, despite playing in the IPL 2025. While some reports say that Shami is not fit enough to play for the team, he could have been a great addition to the line-up. Noting the fact that he played in the Champions Trophy, which was also in the UAE for India.

Shami has been a part of the Indian team for a long time, but has played just 25 T20I games, and taken 27 wickets at an average of 28.18, and an economy of 8.95 runs per over. But, he was also not able to perform well in the IPL 2025 edition, as he took just 6 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 56.16, and an economy of 11.23 runs per over.

Mohammed Siraj

The bowler who showcased the most improvements for the Indian team, Mohammed Siraj, would be missing out on the Asia Cup, even after dominating in the finals of the previous edition. He even came out as India’s best bowler in the Test series against England, but couldn’t fit himself into the T20 squad.

Talking about his T20I career, Siraj has played just 16 games and taken 14 wickets at an average of 32.28, and an economy of 7.79 runs per over. But in the IPL 2025 season, he performed well, taking 16 wickets at an average of 32.93 and an economy of 9.24 runs per over.