Ajit Agarkar gets reality check over Asia Cup 2025 squad selection: 'This bunch can't win T20 World Cup'
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After the Asia Cup 2025 squad selection, heavy criticism has been faced by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection. Now, former Indian selector Kris Srikkanth has stated that this Indian team is not capable of defending the ICC T20 World Cup title in 2026.
BCCI announced the India squad for the upcoming Asia Cup on Tuesday, and it has seen some shocking inclusions. Shreyas Iyer has been snubbed, which has led to widespread outrage.
Several other selections in the squad, including Rinku Singh, have raised a major doubt about the merits of the Indian selectors. Srikkanth believes that India has gone backwards with their team selection. He has also claimed that despite being a good squad, they are not reliable to defend the T20 World Cup title.
Former Indian selector slams Indian management for Asia Cup squad selection
The ex-cricketer has claimed that the Ajit Agarkar-led committee has announced a squad that might be suitable for the Indian team to win the Asia Cup, but their chances in the T20 World Cup shall be diminished.
He has shown major doubt over the selection of players like Harshit Rana, Shivam Dube, and Rinku Singh. All these players have seen a major dip in their form recently.
"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," Srikkanth said in a video on his YouTube channel, as quoted by Sportskeeda..
Kris Srikkanth poses doubt on India's chance of defending T20 World Cup title
Srikkanth believes that the team lacks a natural number 5, and Dube, Rinku, or Jitesh, who are all on the team, do not form a suitable profile to star for India in the T20I setup. Jitesh looks inexperienced, while the other two have lacked form in recent times.
"We might win the Asia Cup with this team, but there is no chance of winning the T20 World Cup with this bunch." he said.
“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?"
Kris Srikkanth poses doubt on Shubman Gill's vice-captaincy role
Shubman Gill has been cited as the new all-format leader for India since, after being named the Indian Test skipper, he has been picked as the vice-captain of the Indian T20I side for the upcoming Asia Cup.
The continental championship will mark the return of Gill to the Indian side, while Axar Patel, the vice-captain in the previous series against England, has been snubbed from the leadership role. Gill has been figured as a permanent entity on the Indian side across any formats.
"They have gone backwards. Axar Patel has been axed from vice-captaincy," said Srikkanth.
Tagged:
India National Cricket Team Krishnamachari Srikkanth Asia Cup Shubman Gill Harshit Rana Rinku Singh Kris Srikkanth ICC T20 World Cup Ajit Agarkar
