Has Yashasvi Jaiswal Been Shortchanged?

'Jaiswal has an avg of 36 & a strike rate of 164 in T20Is and he got dropped for Gill who has avg of 30 and a strike rate of 139.'
'There is no place for merit anymore.'

Yashasvi Jaiswal has 723 runs in 23 T20Is played for India

IMAGE: Yashasvi Jaiswal has 723 runs in 23 T20Is played for India. Photograph: BCCI

Yashasvi Jaiswal was not included in the 15 member Indian squad for the Asia Cup, picked by the national selection committee at the Board of Control for Cricket in India's headquarters in Mumbai on Tuesday.

A prolific striker of the ball, Jaiswal has given India blazing starts in the 23 T20Is he has played for the Men In Blue.

Tallying 723 runs in the shortest format, with a strike rate of 164.32 and an average of 36.15.

In IPL 2025, Jaiswal walloped 559 runs in 14 matches at an average of 43 -- his figures in the last five IPL innings reading 67(45), 6(7), 75(47), 51(37), and 74(52).

In his last six T20I innings he has amassed 221 runs with the highest of 93 not out against Zimbabwe in Harare last July.

Given his superb showing in the format, his omission raised questions.

Yashasvi Jaiswal has performed consistently for India in T20Is, which is his strong suit

IMAGE: Yashasvi Jaiswal has performed consistently for India in T20Is, which is his strong suit. Photograph: BCCI

Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar cited reasons for dropping Jaiswal: 'It's very unfortunate for Yashasvi Jaiswal, with Abhishek doing well, he can bowl as well -- one of the two was going to miss out -- same with Shreyas (Iyer), not his fault,' Agarkar told the media following the squad announcement.

India's Test Captain Shubman Gill, who has an equally impressive T20I record with 578 runs from 21 matches and the highest individual score by an Indian (126 not out) -- was picked at the expense of Jaiswal and this decision has not gone down well with Indian cricket fans.

Rajiv1841 tweeted: 'Shreyas Iyer & Yashasvi Jaiswal couldn't find a place in India's T20I squad coz they failed to invest in PR the way Shubman Gill did. Indian Cricket requires you to have best PR & good connections with media people in order to play in Indian team.'

'Yashasvi Jaiswal has avg of 36 & strike rate of 164 in T20Is & he got dropped for Gill who has avg of 30 & strike rate of 139. There is no place for merit anymore.'

LoyalSachinFan tweeted: 'Yashasvi Jaiswal is dropped from his best format. He should have been there man. He is a beast in T20 Cricket.'

SushantNMehta tweeted: 'Criminal to keep Shreyas Iyer & Yashasvi Jaiswal out of the team.'

Dheerajsingh_ tweeted: No Shreyas Iyer. No Yashasvi Jaiswal in Asia Cup T20 Squad... Seriously, what's even going on?

rrpaglu tweeted: 'You have to feel for Yashasvi Jaiswal, with a T20I average of 36 and a strike rate of 165, he could have made the playing XI of any country. They just rested him from t20s because he was doing his Test duties but now when time came they have selected someone who performed worse.'

Smithian_here tweeted: 'Yashasvi Jaiswal. You gotta feel for him. Immense talent across formats, one of the best T20 openers in the world! He deserved every bit of his blood to make that Asia Cup squad.'

India's squad for Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.