Sunil Gavaskar refuses to discuss Yashasvi Jaiswal's Asia Cup non-selection: ‘Creates controversy; players don't want…’

Sunil Gavaskar declined to comment on Yashasvi Jaiswal's exclusion from India's Asia Cup 2025 squad, emphasising the importance of supporting the selected team.

Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar refused to discuss Yashasvi Jaiswal's omission from India's Asia Cup 2025 squad. The former India captain said people can have their opinions before the squad is announced but once the selection committee has made their decision public, there is no point in discussing a certain player's non-selection as it only creates controversy which the players never want.

Yashasvi Jaiswal was not picked in India's Asia Cup squad (BCCI Twitter)

Despite being a part of India's T20 World Cup-winning squad, Jaiswal was not picked for the Asia Cup. On the other hand, Shubman Gill, who was part of the reserve players' list in the ICC event, not only returned to the squad but was also made vice captain of the squad for the continental tournament starting September 9 in the UAE. Incidentally, both Jaiswal and Gill last turned up for the Indian T20I side in July last year before the selectors decided to preserve them for the longer formats.

Jaiswal has a T20I strike rate of 164 in the 23 matches that he has played, scoring 723 runs. Gill, on the other hand, has 578 runs in 221 matches at a strike rate of 139. When Gavaskar was made aware of Jaiswal's T20I numbers, which were far superior to Gill, the legendary cricketer said only 15 can be a part of the squad.

"You can only pick XI in the match and you can only pick 15 in the squad. Somebody has to miss out, that's just one of those in Indian cricket. No point in discussing whether A or B or C should've been there. This is now our team. We can all have our opinions before the selection committee picks the team but once the team is picked, we should back it fully. We shouldn't be saying A should've been there or B should've been there. That only creates controversy, which the players don't need," Gavaskar told India Today.

Gavaskar backs Shubman Gill to become India's T20I captain

Gavaskar was not at all surprised by Gill's return to the T20I setup and that too as the vice-captain of the side. “Not surprising at all. He (Shubman Gill) scored over 750 runs just a couple of weeks ago. You cannot exclude a player in that kind of form. Also, he has done really well in the IPL, which concluded just before the tour to England. It's a very good inclusion. Giving him the vice-captaincy is also a way of telling him that in the future, he could be leading the T20 side. I think it’s a very, very good selection,” Gavaskar said.

Gill scored 754 runs in the five-match Test series in England which India drew 2-2. “He was very impressive in England. To score 750-plus runs while leading the side for the first time shows how well he handled pressure. This vice-captaincy is a clear sign that he is going to be the captain of the Indian team as well, It's always good to have him take the responsibility just a little bit earlier,” he added.