Home
Asia Cup 2025: India's legendary spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was left disappointed as he did not see opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer's names in the squad for T20 Asia Cup 2025. Ashwin says that the two batters take risks for the team instead of playing for personal benefits. However, following the snubs despite stellar shows in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the approach may change. He believes that Jaiswal can start playing in the middle-order in the IPL if he wants to get a place in India's T20I squad.
“Not only has his slot gone, but there’s a leadership role in that," Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel. “Now, he’s left with one spot — he needs to fight for Abhishek Sharma’s place. Or he’ll have to go and play in the middle-order in the IPL. He averages 36, with a strike rate of 165 in this format. It’s very hard to find a guy like Jaiswal. He doesn’t play for himself sometimes, I have seen a lot of batters who do. Shreyas is the same."
“Both of them play less for their average and more for strike rate. If the ball is there to be hit, they take the chance. It took a long time for India to get players with that brand of cricket. Now you got those players… I’ll say if I am Jaiswal or Shreyas, now my chance is gone, so from the next time if a risk has to be taken, I won’t. I’ll play for myself because I need to secure my place. It’s unfortunate you’ll have to play for that in T20s," Ashwin added.
Jaiswal and Siraj’s T20I and IPL 2025 numbers
23-year-old Jaiswal has played 23 T20Is and scored 723 runs at an average of 36.15, including one century and five fifties. His strike rate is 164.31. His last T20I appearance was against Sri Lanka last year.
In the IPL 2025, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener scored 559 runs from 14 innings at an average of 43, including six fifties. His strike rate was 159.71. He was by far the highest run-scorer for RR in their underwhelming season.
Iyer has played 51 T20Is and scored 1,104 runs at an average of 30.66, including eight half-centuries. His strike rate is 136.12. His previous T20I appearance was against Australia in December 2023.
However, the 30-year-old has changed his approach in T20s. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain amassed 604 runs from 17 innings at an average of 50.33, featuring seven half-centuries. He did not worry about milestones and scored at a strike rate of 175.07.
ADVERTISEMENT
