Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali was surprised with the exclusion of Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami from India's Asia Cup squad.

The BCCI announced a 15-man squad for the continental event on Tuesday, and appointed Shubman Gill as the vice-captain of the Suryakumar Yadav-led side.

While Jaiswal was been named as one of the five reserves, the other three were completely overlooked by the selectors.

Speaking on YouTube show Game Time, Basit said that if the quartet of Iyer, Jaiswal, Shami and Siraj played for Pakistan, they would've been part of 'A' category, highlighting the abundance of talent India have in the shortest format.

"Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami agar Pakistan mein hote na ye log A category mey hote (These would have been in Pakistan's A category)," said Basit.

Speaking particularly on Iyer's snub, Basit accused the BCCI of mistreating the player.

"Iyer ke saad jyadati ho gayi hai. Unko team mey hona chahiye (It was unfortunate that Shreyas Iyer has not been picked)," he said.

Basit also backed India to win the Asia Cup, saying that only Sri Lanka can challenge them for the title."They have got a very explosive squad and I think only Sri Lanka can compete with him," he added.

Source:Ndtv