Will India win Asia Cup but not T20 World Cup?

Aug 30, 2025 - 03:00

Kris Srikkanth, a former India selector, has harshly criticized the team chosen for the Asia Cup 2025. He says that the Men in Blue have “no chance” of winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 with the players they have now.

The former India opener claimed on his YouTube channel that India might do well in the Asia Cup, but their chances in the world event next year don’t look good.

“We could win the Asia Cup with this team, but there’s no way we could win the T20 World Cup with these guys.” Are you going to bring this team to the World Cup? Is this the way you’re getting ready for a tournament that’s only six months away? Srikkanth said.

He also questioned the choice to take away Axar Patel’s vice-captaincy and was surprised that Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, and Harshit Rana were chosen even though they didn’t do well in IPL 2025.

“They have gone backwards.” Axar Patel is no longer vice-captain. I don’t understand how Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, and Harshit Rana got in. He said, “IPL is thought to be the main factor in selection, but the selectors seem to have looked beyond that.”

Srikkanth raised worries about India’s middle order and pointed out that the No. 5 batting spot is not clear.

“Who will be the fifth batter? Sanju Samson, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Dube, or Rinku Singh could be the one. Axar can’t bat at six because Hardik Pandya generally bats at five. I don’t get why Dube was chosen. Yashasvi Jaiswal has done well in both the IPL and international cricket. “What about him?” he asked.

Suryakumar Yadav will be the captain of India in the Asia Cup, and Shubman Gill will be the vice-captain.

But the announcement of the team has caused a lot of talk, with many fans and former players criticizing the fact that Shreyas Iyer and Jaiswal were left out, even though they both did well in IPL 2025. People are also surprised that Gill was brought back as T20I vice-captain after more than a year.

India is in Group A with Pakistan, the UAE, and Oman. They start their campaign against the UAE in Dubai on September 10, and then they play Pakistan at the same place on September 14 in a big match. The last group encounter for them will be against Oman.

India and Sri Lanka will co-host the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in February and March of next year.

India’s squad for 2025 Asia Cup:

Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vc), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube , Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy , Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson

Reserve players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal