From Shubman Gill To Shivam Dube, Taking A Look At Surprise Inclusions In India's Asia Cup Squad

Asia Cup 2025: The BCCI has announced India's squad for the upcoming Asia Cup on Tuesday, and the selectors announced a formidable side for the continental tournament, which is all set to start from September. The core players had been retained by the selectors, and thus, the India team is considered the favourite to lift the title.

They might have picked a strong side, but there are a few decisions made by the selectors that left everyone stunned. These decisions might affect picking India's playing XI, and now let's take a look at all such players who are surprise inclusions in the squad:

1. Shubman Gill

He last represented the country in the shortest format against Sri Lanka in July last year, and after that, the selectors had dropped him completely. Head coach Gautam Gambhir planned to build an aggressive side, where every player is supposed to have an aggressive approach. But Gill's performance in T20Is paints a different picture.

Also Read: Abhishek Nayar Slams Gautam Gambhir, Ajit Agarkar For Snubbing THIS Player From India's Asia Cup Squad, Says, 'He Isn't Liked As Much....'

(Gill's numbers in T20Is)

According to the data, Gill is quite talented, but he has a strike rate below 140 in this format. And since players like Abhishek Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Sanju Samson have a strike rate of more than 150, Gill's ability to change his batting style has raised questions.

And since Gill is picked as the vice-captain, he would be picked in India's playing of every match, and that will affect the rest of the lineup. There are high chances that Gill would open the innings, and that means either Samson or Abhishek might be dropped from the playing XI. The pair of Samson and Abhishek had performed brilliantly during the last few T20I series, but this might change during the Asia Cup.

2. Harshit Rana

Besides Gill, Harshit Rana's inclusion also had left everyone stunned. Considered Gautam Gambhir's favourite since his time at KKR, Harshit had represented the country in this format during just one match, and other players would have replaced him in the side.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: Is Shubman Gill A Better T20I Batter Than Yashasvi Jaiswal? A Comparison of Their Stats

Prasidh Krishna, who was the IPL 2025 Purple cap winner, was snubbed, and his performance during IPL 2025 did prove why he should have been picked instead of Rana.

(Harshit vs Prasidh in IPL 2025)

Prasidh did surpass Harshit in all departments, and even though he did have a dream run, the selectors dropped him and picked a bowler who did concede at least 10 runs per over.

3. Shivam Dube

The selectors picking Shivam Dube had also left a lot of people baffled, and that too for the wrong reasons. After his brilliant performances during IPL 2022, he made a comeback to the national side, and except for a few performances, his recent performances, especially during the IPL, have become a concern for the Men in Blue.

(Dube stats in IPL 2025)

At a slow surface on the M.A. Chidambaram stadium in Chennai, Dube was seen struggling to score runs and batted at a strike rate of 132.22. At the same time, in the UAE, they might face challenging conditions like slow wickets. And that's why picking Dube in the team doesn't make any sense. The selectors should have picked Shreyas Iyer, who could have performed better in the UAE.