The fact that players like Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami were left off of India’s 2025 Asia Cup roster, according to former Pakistani batter Basit Ali, shows how talented the nation is. If these four athletes had been on the Pakistani team, Ali claimed, they would have been in the ‘A’ category.
It was reported that Shreyas and Yashasvi would be selected for India’s Asia Cup team. But the selection committee, which was directed by Ajit Agarkar, chose to return Shubman Gill and select Shivam Dube as a seam-bowling all-rounder in the middle order. Jaiswal had to settle for a position in the reserves since these two players were selected. On the other side, Iyer was totally ignored.
India selected Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana as their fast bowling trio. The seasoned pair of Shami and Siraj were disregarded.
Basit stated on the YouTube program Game Time that “Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami agar Pakistan mein hote na ye log A category mey hote” (These would have been in Pakistan’s A category).
In particular, Basit accused the BCCI of mistreating Shreyas , who earlier this year guided Punjab Kings (PBKS) to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 final.
“Iyer ke saad gayi hai jyadati ho. “It was regrettable that Shreyas Iyer was not selected,” he added, adding, “Unko team mey hona chahiye.”
The Mumbai batsman came in sixth on the IPL 2025 list of top scores. He scored 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07 and an average of 50.33 in 17 innings.
India can only be rivalled by Sri Lanka: Basit Ali
Basit also predicted that the Men in Blue will win the Asia Cup, claiming that only Sri Lanka could pose a threat.
The cricket player-turned-expert said, “They have a very explosive squad, and I think only Sri Lanka can compete with him.”
India, Pakistan, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates are all in Group B. On September 10, the Suryakumar Yadav-led team plays the United Arab Emirates at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium to kick off their campaign.
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