Follow UsAfter India announced their squad for the Asia Cup 2025, which begins on September 9 in the UAE, former India opener and selector Kris Srikkanth shared a bold assessment. While he believes the Men in Blue are strong enough to win the Asia Cup with the current squad, he was categorical in saying that “there is no chance” they can win the 2026 T20 World Cup with the same group of players.
The Asia Cup squad, led by Suryakumar Yadav, features Shubman Gill returning to the T20I set-up after more than a year. Gill has also been named vice-captain, replacing Axar Patel. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are the other openers in the line-up.
In the middle order, India have opted for Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma, and Shivam Dube, while the pace attack will be spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, supported by Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana. The spin department looks well-rounded with Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Despite the team looking well balanced, Srikkanth expressed his displeasure with a few selections. “We might win the Asia Cup with this team, but there is no chance of winning the T20 World Cup with this bunch," Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel, as quoted by Sportskeeda.
“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? 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. IPL is considered the main criteria for selection, but the selectors seem to have considered performances before that."
India have been placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, UAE, and Oman, and will begin their campaign against the UAE on September 10. Group B consists of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong.