New Delhi [India], August 19 : Former Indian cricketer Surinder Khanna delivered his take on opener Yashasvi Jaiswal's omission from the Asia Cup main squad, noting that while he is an outstanding batter and was unlucky to miss out, it could be his fielding that restricted him to a reserve player.
Jaiswal's omission after yet another consistent Indian Premier League (IPL) season was one of the biggest pointers to emerge following the announcement of the Asia Cup squad by skipper Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
Jaiswal was the back-up opener ahead of vice-captain Shubman Gill for the T20 World Cup last year. He was the backup as India wanted to open with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Having made 723 runs in 23 T20Is with a century and five fifties at a strike rate of over 164 throughout his career, Jaiswal's 559-run IPL 2025 season (in 14 matches with six fifties at SR of almost 160), brought back the leftie into T20I conversations. However, he could not make it to the main squad, as he sits in the reserves alongside all-rounders Washington Sundar and Riyan Parag, wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel and pacer Prasidh Krishna.
Speaking about Jaiswal to ANI, Surinder said that while he was unlucky to miss out, not everyone can make it to a squad of 15 players. He also pointed out that Jaiswal, who dropped numerous catches during the recent Test tour to England, needs to work on his fielding as it is a crucial aspect of T20I cricket.

"He is unlucky that he is not there. He is in the stand-by position. I was expecting him to be there in the team. Like I said, Shreyas Iyer and Jaiswal consistently perform in any format for India. But sometimes you have to select 15 players," he said.
"And when you make a national team, you miss one or the other player. And everyone likes one or the other player. Everyone considers someone as their favourite, and there will be criticism always after a team is selected, no matter how good it is."
"I am sure in the coming years, Jaiswal will come in the T20I format as well. He is an outstanding player. But in T20, if you look at two players, as a coach and a captain, you look at who is a good fielder. In that, sometimes a player is ahead of you. I think Yashasvi has to work on his fielding and catching as well. As a batter, he is amazing no doubt," he added.
Surinder also welcomed pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's return to the T20I set-up after the T20 WC win, calling him "one of the finest bowlers with the new ball". He also said that there are no concerns about his workload since the format is short and calls for a maximum of four overs to be bowled per bowler.
"He has to bowl just four overs, what is his workload? It is nothing, just 1.5 hours of cricket per innings. I do not think there is a problem with it. He faces a problem when he is playing a Test series of four to five matches. That is where the workload management comes in. He goes by the advice of BCCI or his own physios. They guide and advise him. No player wants to miss. Because your shelf life is not that long. So, I think it is a welcome move. He will be our senior bowler with the most experience. And whenever the captain wants a wicket, they can use him," he added.
The former Indian wicketkeeper, who starred in India's inaugural Asia Cup win back in 1984 with a half-century, also hailed wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson for doing well in the opportunities he has got as an opener, posting three centuries.
On the selection of pacer Harshit Rana, who also hails from Delhi like Surinder, the former cricketer called the move "heartening" and pointed out how good his slow ball is with "a lot of control"
"He is doing well in the Delhi Premier League as well. He is a very good fast bowler. He also does well in slow ball with a lot of control. He will be very useful if he gets a chance. He will do well. And as a Delhiite, yes, I am very happy that a Delhi lad is in the team. May he do well," he concluded.
Rana, who has impressed with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the past two seasons, has played all formats for India, having played just one T20I against England this year, taking three wickets in the match for 33 runs. While he took 15 wickets in 13 matches for KKR at an average of above 29 in IPL 2025, his breakout season was the 2024 edition. In that edition, he took 19 wickets in 13 matches at an average of just above 20, with best figures of 3/24, playing a big role in the team's title win after a decade.
India will kick off their campaign against the UAE on September 10, while the high-voltage game against Pakistan is scheduled for the September 14, with both fixtures set to be played in Dubai. India will play their final group stage fixture against Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.
After the group stage, the tournament will proceed to the Super 4, where the top two teams from each group will qualify. If India finishes at the top of Group A, then all of their Super 4 matches will be held in Dubai. If India finishes second, then one of their Super 4 clashes will be held in Abu Dhabi and the remaining two in Dubai. The Super 4 stage will run from September 20 to 26. Dubai will host the final, which is scheduled for September 28.
Team India squad for Asia Cup: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Reserve players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.