Asia Cup 2025: ‘He is a major star’

Yashasvi Jaiswal was among the most surprising names on the list of players who couldn’t make it to India’s squad for the 2025 Asia Cup. The aggressive opening batter was named among the reserve players for the continental competition, which gets underway on September 9, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Jaiswal was a part of India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad last year as a backup opener. However, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli opening the batting, the southpaw didn’t get a game. Shubman Gill was among the reserves in the marquee tournament. For the Asia Cup, Shubman has entered the main squad, with Jaiswal being picked in the reserve players’ list. Shubman has also been named vice-captain of the Indian team in the shortest format.

With Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson doing well as India’s opening batters over the past few months and Shubman returning to the setup, the selectors felt that there wasn’t a place for Jaiswal in the side.

This decision, however, has surprised former England batter Kevin Pietersen. The Delhi Capitals’ mentor called Jaiswal a major star and deemed his omission a strange one.

“Strange omission! Yash is a major star!” Pietersen wrote during a Q&A session on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Will Kevin Pietersen take up coaching role for Team England?

In the same Q&A session, Pietersen was asked by a fan whether he would be interested in becoming England’s head coach. To this, the right-handed batter said he doesn’t have the time needed to take up the role.

After his retirement, Pietersen invests a lot of his time in playing golf. He also plays cricket in certain legends league tournaments.

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