Asia Cup: R Ashwin's shocking admission - 'I am happy for Shubman, but...'

Former India spinner R Ashwin admitted that he was a bit shocked not to see the names of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer in Suryakumar Yadav-led 15-member squad for the Asia Cup.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.

India and arch-rivals Pakistan have been clubbed in Group A and will clash on September 14.

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“See, I understand that selection is a thankless job," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’."Leaving somebody out, telling someone they are dropped, it is not an easy thing. You have to speak to the players, you have to go through the sadness.

"I just hope Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal were given a call, and they were told the reasons behind not being picked.“Genuinely, I understand Shubman Gill's selection. He is also the vice-captain. He has scored a lot of runs for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL. He has the credentials to be picked in the T20I setup,” he added.Gill, 25, returned to the 15-man squad as deputy to skipper Suryakumar Yadav, thanks to the stellar role he played with the bat in the recent Test series against England.

The top-order batsman scored 754 runs as India's relatively young squad fought from behind to square the five-match series 2-2.

The eight-nation Asia Cup will be the first major event in the build-up to next year's T20 World Cup in India in February and March.Gill, who was named Test skipper after the retirement of veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli earlier this year, last played a T20 international in July 2024.“When you have Yashasvi Jaiswal as the third opener in the T20 World Cup 2024, to remove someone from the World Cup squad and bring in Shubman Gill... I mean, it's okay, I am happy for Shubman, but I'm very sad for both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer. It is just not fair to these two kids,” said Ashwin.