Indian Mens T20 Captain Suryakumar Yadav, left, and Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar during the press conference to announce the team for the Cricket Asia Cup 2025 at the BCCI Headquarters in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh lambasted chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar for leaving out two “X-factor” players from India’s 15-member squad for the Asia Cup.“I feel that Siraj’s name should have been included as well. Siraj bowled very well in the recent series,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.“Yes, he bowled a lot in England, but he also got adequate rest. So he could have been included.“If he had been picked, the team would have looked even stronger. The bowling unit would have seemed stronger. I feel that the ‘X-factor’ Siraj brings might be somewhat missed,” he added.Another omission that surprised Harbhajan was the absence of Shreyas Iyer from the squad.“I had hoped he (Shreyas Iyer) would get a place in the team. He scored a lot of runs, played in the IPL final, and was in very good form.“I thought his name could have been there. As for whose spot he would take, that is for the selectors to decide.“When someone has to be included or left out, a spot is made. But I did not see Shreyas Iyer’s name there, which surprised me a little,” he added.The Asia Cup will begin on September 9, with defending champions India set to face hosts United Arab Emirates a day later in Dubai in the eight-nation tournament.
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India and arch-rivals Pakistan have been placed in Group A and will clash on September 14.Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has also made a comeback to the T20 squad after skipping two matches in England to manage his workload.Bumrah’s last T20 outing was India’s World Cup title win over South Africa at Barbados in June 2024.With Kohli and Rohit retiring from T20 internationals after that triumph, Bumrah will lead the pace attack alongside left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana. Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, and Kuldeep Yadav will handle the spin department.
