'No chance of winning T20 World Cup with this bunch' - Former selector slams India's 2025 Asia Cup selection

Former India chief selector Kris Srikkanth recently made a bold remark, stating that that there is no chance that India will win the T20 World Cup next year. India and Sri Lanka will co-host the mega event in 2026. Srikkanth's comments came in relation to India's Asia Cup 2025 squad which was announced on August 19 at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. 

“We might win the Asia Cup with this team, but there is no chance of winning the T20 World Cup with this bunch. Are you going to take this team to the World Cup? Is this the preparation for the T20 World Cup, which is hardly six months away?” Srikkanth said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.

The 65-year-old did not like the fact that Axar Patel had been stripped off his role as vice-captain without any reason. He also noted that there was no definite criterion of selection for players.

“They have gone backwards. Axar Patel has been axed from vice-captaincy. I don’t know how Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Harshit Rana have come in. The IPL is considered the main criterion for selection, but the selectors seem to have considered performances before that,” he commented.

To conclude, the ex-opening batter questioned the inclusion of Shivam Dube and exclusion of Yashasvi Jaiswal.

“Who will bat at No. 5? Five has to be either Sanju Samson, Jitesh Sharma or Shivam Dube or Rinku Singh. Hardik Pandya usually bats at No. 5, so now, Axar cannot bat at six. I can’t understand how they picked Dube. Yashasvi Jaiswal has performed in international cricket and the IPL as well. What does he do?” questioned Srikkanth.

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India have even announced five standby players in addition to their 15-member squad. Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel were the five players in the list. The Men in Blue are placed in Group A with Pakistan, Oman and United Arab Emirates.