The countdown to the Asia Cup 2025 has already started, and the BCCI has unveiled a 15-member squad for the tournament.
The team looks well-balanced, with a mix of youth and experience. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side, while Shubman Gill has been appointed as vice-captain. However, alongside the main squad, selectors have also named five standby players, who are unlikely to feature in any match during the competition.
Who are the standby players?
The five names on standby include Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Why won’t they get a chance to play?
Standby players are essentially backup options and only get drafted into the playing XI if a member of the main squad is ruled out due to injury or other reasons. Unless such a situation arises, these players will not get match time in the Asia Cup 2025.
Why are they still important?
Even though their chances of playing are slim, these players bring immense value as future prospects:
Prasidh Krishna – A genuine pacer capable of turning matches with his pace.
Washington Sundar – A handy all-rounder who adds depth with both bat and ball.
Riyan Parag & Yashasvi Jaiswal – Young attacking batters with the ability to dominate T20 games.
Dhruv Jurel – A reliable wicketkeeper-batsman who strengthens the bench.
India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakraborty, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
The countdown for the Asia Cup 2025 has begun, with the tournament set to kick off on September 9 in the T20 format. This edition is expected to bring high-voltage encounters, especially the much-awaited India vs Pakistan clash, which always draws massive attention from fans worldwide.
For India, the focus will be on balancing workload management while maintaining winning momentum ahead of the T20 World Cup.
