Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has questioned Yashasvi Jaiswal’s exclusion from India’s squad for the 2025 Asia Cup. He also wondered whether players are being treated differently, saying that the reason given for Shubman Gill’s appointment as vice-captain should have applied for Yashasvi Jaiswal’s selection as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “In the T20 World Cup you won, you had to take three openers. There was no other cricket happening at that time, and Yashasvi was the third opener. They said Shubman Gill was made vice-captain because he was the captain as soon as the T20 World Cup got over, and was the vice-captain when Suryakumar Yadav was made the captain, and Sanju Samson opened because Shubman wasn’t there.”
“I get that, but going by the same token, Yashasvi Jaiswal was in the T20 World Cup team. So his number should have come first, but you didn’t keep him. If he is not getting a place, you must ask a question. Are we having different rules for different people?” he further added.
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However, Aakash Chopra also added that Yashasvi Jaiswal’s game is more suited to India’s aggressive approach than Shubman Gill’s as well.
“Yashasvi’s absence surprises you a little. If someone automatically marries into the team philosophy, that is Yashasvi Jaiswal. I am not saying Shubman cannot do that, but Shubman will have to try. If we compare in the powerplay, Yashasvi is ahead. Yashasvi probably doesn’t consistently score as many runs as Shubman after the powerplay, but you have already prepared a long list of attacking batters for that,” he said.
“Every team comes and hits sixes, and keeps hitting till the end. They have a batter at No. 8. They do not care how many wickets they have lost, and India are also going in that direction. If someone was fitting into that, it was Yashasvi, but his name is not there in the team. This is the reality. It was slightly surprising for sure,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
