Asia Cup 2025: 'He has a strike rate of 165' - Jaiswal gets backing upon omission from T20I squad

Former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has expressed shock at some calls made by All India Men's Senior Selection Committee chief Ajit Agarkar for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. While Shubman Gill returned to the T20I setup as vice-captain, there was no place for youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal, despite his consistent performances since his debut.

Ashwin admitted that Jaiswal’s omission has raised concerns, suggesting the setback might force the left-handed opener to rethink his approach. According to him, being overlooked could push Jaiswal into playing for personal milestones rather than the team, which could affect his natural attacking style.

"As Jaiswal got a chance in Test cricket, he took it with both hands. Easily the most successful Test batter that has made debut for India in recent past. He excelled in whatever format you gave him his opportunity to play and what else can one do other than excellence? He excelled and lost his chance in that slot,” said Ashwin on his YouTube Channel.

"Now, he has to go back to the drawing board again but I really wish him well for getting a shot at it. The point is, Jaiswal didn't lose any opportunity there was even a leadership role left over from him. Then now only one more slot remaining which will be Abhishek Sharma's spot where they have to fight each other," he added.

The former India off-spinner also highlighted Jaiswal’s impressive strike rate in the shortest format, emphasizing that the opener consistently plays for the team rather than personal milestones. Despite this, he faced the setback of being overlooked to make way for Gill in the T20I squad.

"He has a strike rate of 165 [164.31] in this format as well. It is very difficult to find someone like Jaiswal because he doesn't play for himself sometimes. I have seen many such batters who don't even play themselves and Shreyas too. They do not play on their own, the ball is there to hit they will take that chance. For average players it's less but more so when it comes down to strike rates or scoring goals. Such brand of players took quite some time to get into India,” said Ashwin.

"That's a big thing you are saying. No, we have to save our own space and it is an unfortunate thing that T20 has become one of those places," he concluded.