He had bagged a three-wicket haul on his latest T20I appearance against England in February 2025.
The Asia Cup 2025 is all set to commence on September 9 and it will be played in the 20-over format to function as a buildup for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. However, questions have arisen regarding the place of veteran pacer Mohammed Shami in India’s T20I squad for the upcoming marquee event.
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Former India opener Aakash Chopra has strongly opined that the veteran seamer would not be able to secure a place in the national team’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. Notably, the 34-year-old also had a dismal outing in the recent season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) acquired him for a huge amount of INR 10 crores for the IPL 2025, following his release from the Gujarat Titans (GT) squad. But the bowler featured in only nine league-stage matches and scalped just six wickets at an expensive economy of 11.23, before being dropped by the franchise due to his poor run of form. His stats in the format also read as – 27 wickets in 25 matches at an economy of 8.95.
“I can almost guarantee that Mohammad Shami won’t be there in that because Shami was only being played to test his fitness and prepare him for the Champions Trophy. Now that bus has sailed, and if he is not part of Tests, I don’t see him playing T20 cricket at this point in time,” stated Chopra on his YouTube channel.
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The cricketer-turned-commentator also mentioned that though the management would look to include India’s newest Test captain Shubman Gill and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal to the 20-over setup, after a brilliant show in the ongoing red-ball tour of England, but it would not be much easier due to the latest stats of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma while opening for India in the format.
Though Samson endured a difficult outing in the latest T20I series against England at home, with just 51 runs in five matches, his opening partner Abhishek notched up some smashing knocks to seal his spot in the format. The 24-year-old ended the five-match T20I series with 279 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 219.68, which also included his highest T20I score of 135.
“The current team play incredibly well when we play T20Is. There will be a temptation to make Yashasvi or Shubman Gill part of the team, but will it be that straightforward?” added Chopra.
However, the defending champions India have been placed in Group A alongside the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan and Oman for the league stage fixtures. India will kick off their campaign against the UAE, where the matches are scheduled to take place, on September 10.
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