Vaibhav Suryavanshi to be India's Asia Cup surprise? BCCI said to play 'fat' in the choice of the group; "Don't let him wait"

Amid the constant buzz about who should be on the flight to the UAE next month, India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad got a fresh turn, as former cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth asked Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s inclusion. The 14-year-old Bihar man broke with a hundred in the recently closed Indian Premier League (IPL) for Rajasthan Royals. After becoming the youngest who has ever earned an IPL contract, Suryavanshi has led his name into record books by becoming the latest IPL Centurion at 14 when he reached his three-digit mark against Gujarat Titans. He completed his IPL 2025 campaign with fifty. In seven games, Suryavanshi collected 252 runs at a strike of more than 200. That’s not all. The left-hand opener continued its impressive form for India U-19 in England and recorded a century on their way to their series victory. The remarks of Srikkanth came after he felt that Sanju Samson’s position was still in doubt after the right hand’s injury in IPL 2025. ‘You must play bravely. Don’t let him wait. Don’t say things like ‘let him mature’. He is already playing with a remarkable maturity. His shot was on another level. If I was chairman, I would definitely have him in the show. Srikkanth, who was a member of the Indian World Cup-winning group in 1983, chose Abhishek Sharma as his first choice opener, Suryavanshi and Sai Sudharsan as his options for the second opener. “My first choice opener is Abhishek Sharma, undoubtedly. I will have two more openers. My choices would be vaibhav Suryavanshi or Sai Sudharsan, with Shubman Gill as an option. If I was an appraiser, I would keep Vaibhav in the 15 for the T20. “I think it should be Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Sai Sudharsan. I would take two out of these three. That would be my preference,” Srikkanth said. When is India’s group selected for Asia Cup 2025? According to media reports, the group of India will be announced on August 19 after a meeting of the selection committee at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. Captain Suryakumar Yadav, head coach Gautam Gambhir and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar will be present at the meeting.