Asia Cup 2025: India Squad Shake-Up Signals a New Era

<strong>Karan Pradhan</strong> breaks down India’s bold Asia Cup picks, from power-hitters to shock exclusions.

Suryakumar Yadav with Ajit Agarkar during the announcement of India's Asia Cup 2025 squad. PTI Photo

THE BRIEF RESPITE after the pulsating Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is over and it’s cricket time once again — only this time, it’s T20s in the form of the Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Set to square off against usual suspects Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, alongside the likes of Hong Kong, Oman and the UAE, the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian side was announced at the BCCI headquarters in rain-lashed Mumbai on Tuesday. The tournament kicks off on 7 September with the final taking place on 28 September, and you can catch all 19 matches live and exclusive on JioHotStar, now available with OTTplay.

Among the squad of 15 named for the Asian Cricket Council’s marquee T20 tournament were a handful of no-brainers, a couple of surprises and some unexpected omissions. But before anything else, let’s look at those who made the cut.

THE FINAL 15

Suryakumar Yadav (c): Appointed full-time T20i skipper a little over a year ago, Suryakumar has a formidable win record of over 78% with 18 wins from 23 matches. His form with the bat since this promotion though has left a lot to be desired. Averaging 18.42 from the 15 matches played since he took over with a high score of 75 against Bangladesh is far from ideal. However, the familiar, batter-friendly wickets in the UAE provide a great opportunity for the captain to hit himself back into form.

Shubman Gill (vc): After a baptism by fire as Test captain over in England, his promotion to vice-captain over the incumbent Axar Patel appears to signal the selectors' trust in Gill and a desire for some sense of continuity among teams in the different formats. While there can be no argument about his success with the bat in Tests, he hasn’t represented the country in the shortest format in over a year. And despite some eye-catching knocks in this year’s IPL, it’s fair to say T20 isn’t his strongest format. That said, it would be surprising not to see him open the batting (as he does with Gujarat Titans). How he fares is another matter altogether.

Abhishek Sharma: Averaging 33.43 with the bat (a figure that was greatly boosted by his 135 in his most recent T20i) for India and 31.51 in the IPL, Sharma is one of the two candidates selected to open the innings with the vice-captain. A clean striker of the ball, the Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder is an ideal foil for the more measured Gill and could be useful in terms of making the most of the powerplay overs. In the past, he has struggled against pace and the short ball, and he can expect a stern examination against the Pakistani pace battery on 14 September.

Sanju Samson (wk): The other name in the opening-with-Gill fray is that of the Kerala stumper. The 30-year-old has had a stop-start T20i career — playing 42 matches in 10 years — and it was only after the conclusion of the T20i World Cup in 2024 that he truly began to carve out a place for himself in the national team. Despite his poor performance in India’s most recent bilateral T20i series (notching up 51 in five matches against England), he remains an aggressive batter blessed with great timing and placement, and these skills will hold him in good stead in the Asia Cup. That he also keeps wickets is a tidy bonus, and one that will allow his skipper some flexibility with team selection.

Tilak Varma: In and out of the team since August 2023, it was only in November last year that Varma made himself an integral part of India’s T20i setup. Two tons against South Africa in South Africa and an average that’s only a shade under 50 mean that the 22-year-old is likely being seen as a long-term part of the selection committee’s plans. And this tournament, in which he is the most obvious candidate to bat at No 3, is the perfect platform for him to cement his role in this format. It’s early days, but this could well be his breakout series.

Rinku Singh: If it’s brutally powerful hitting you want in the middle order, look no further than the KKR batter. With the exception of the T20 World Cup in 2024, Rinku has been a fixture in the national T20i setup for just over two years. Of particular note is his ability to finish an innings with a flourish — a key factor in his selection, according to this correspondent. It’s likely also why despite a patchy IPL and a handful of indifferent performances for the national team in the past couple of series, he’s been given the nod ahead of more consistent performers.

Jitesh Sharma (wk): Snapping close at the heels of Samson is the RCB wicketkeeper-batter. While Sharma hasn’t been involved in the national side since a January 2024 duck against Afghanistan, a handful of useful performances for the Bengaluru team in this year’s IPL seem to have been enough to earn him a shot at the big time. Known for his useful cameos, powerful hitting and (like Rinku before him) the ability to finish innings, he provides a useful option for the selection committee if it chooses to play Abhishek Sharma as opener alongside Gill, and drops Samson.

Hardik Pandya: India’s pack of allrounders is spearheaded by the hugely experienced Mumbai Indians skipper. There’s very little about the shortest format of the game that Pandya hasn’t experienced, and fitness permitting, he’s likely to play every single game for India in the Asia Cup. In fact, his was probably one of the first names on the team sheet, given how effective the allrounder is in this format. There’s very little to say here that hasn’t been said before, suffice it to say that he (and the rest of India) will be hoping he’s able to avoid the niggles and injuries that have dogged him throughout his career.

Axar Patel: The spin-bowling allrounder was a key component of India’s 2024 T20 World Cup winning side, and his tidy, economical bowling, and useful contributions with the bat will make his presence equally crucial this time around. The conditions in the UAE are likely to be conducive to his style of bowling, and so, alongside Pandya, he’s likely to play every single match. The recently-deposed vice-captain will also be looking to prove that despite no longer being the second in command, his importance to the team remains unchanged.

Shivam Dube: The CSK allrounder’s selection is likely down to his big-hitting exploits and useful seam bowling that have made him a fairly established member of the squad. While he does offer a unique middle-order left-handed power-batting option (as compared to the more sedate Patel), it seems unlikely that India would play three allrounders, and for now, it looks like he will be third in the pecking order behind Pandya and Patel. Still, Dube is quite a useful player to have on the bench.

Jasprit Bumrah: From allrounders to bowlers, and the presence of the most lethal contemporary Indian pacer in the Asia Cup squad is a massive shot in the arm for India. There were questions about his fitness during the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy — especially when he missed two matches in order to manage his workload. But with the heavily reduced workload T20 cricket brings with it, India can expect Bumrah to bowl four overs flat out before putting his feet up for a well-earned breather. And probably pick up a handful of wickets in the process.

Arshdeep Singh: After a disappointing England tour where the left-arm quick didn’t get so much as a look-in, he’s back to a setting to which he is more accustomed — T20 cricket in familiar conditions and right back into the first team. In this format, Arshdeep is a trusted entity and his ability to bowl under pressure at the death marks him out as a shoe-in to take the new ball. On his part, the Punjab Kings pacer with 99 T20i wickets to his name will want to add substantially to that tally.

Kuldeep Yadav: Another player who found himself overlooked in the Test series against England is India’s premier left-arm wrist-spinner. And while his style of bowling may or may not have tipped the scales in India’s favour in that series, it is almost certainly likely to be effective on the Dubai and Abu Dhabi pitches. Interestingly, in eight years, Kuldeep has only played 40 T20i matches — his last outing being in last year’s World Cup. With that in mind, it would be odd not to see him in the playing XI, but stranger things have happened.

Varun Chakaravarthy: At 33, the second-oldest player in the team after the skipper is still fairly inexperienced when it comes to representing the country. Chosen in the squad for his mystery spin, particularly in UAE conditions Chakaravarthy is a risky (on account of his inconsistency), but potentially game-changing pick. However, it’s worth looking closer at his career stats of 33 wickets from 18 T20is. That 26 of those wickets have come in his last nine matches augurs very well for India. Although whether or not he gets to play remains to be seen.

Harshit Rana: The last name on the squad list is the KKR speedster with the solitary T20i (against England earlier this year) to his name. Rana is quick, hits the deck hard and can offer a different fast-bowling style to those provided by Bumrah, Arshdeep and Pandya. It’s an attractive proposition, and one India might deploy against the UAE or Oman. But it’s hard to see the Indian brain trust taking a punt on him once we’re down to the business end of the tournament. Still, the experience of being part of the squad will serve him well.

PLAYERS ON STANDBY AND THOSE LEFT OUT

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel have been named as the standby players to presumably step in in the event of an injury to a squad member. For four of those names, the decision makes sense on account of the superior alternatives on offer. For instance, it’s hard to see Krishna, despite his heroics in England, getting ahead of Bumrah or Arshdeep in a T20i squad. Plus, he lacks the raw pace of a Rana to supplant him.

The name on the standby list that likely left most cricket fans scratching their heads was that of Jaiswal. Averaging over 36 in T20i matches, the Indian Test opener isn’t the most prolific of run accumulators, but he is someone who can take matches by the scruff of the neck. His attacking strokemaking coupled with his unorthodox innovation makes him a force to be reckoned with at the top of the batting order. While Abhishek has been performing quite consistently in this format and it would be a tad unfair to leave him out, the decision to include Gill ahead of Jaiswal is a bit controversial to say the least.

And since we’re on the topic of controversial moves, how about Shreyas Iyer’s complete exclusion? “No fault of his, nor is it ours. It's just that we have to pick 15 at the moment, he'll have to wait for his chance” was chief selector Ajit Agarkar’s terse summation of the rationale behind the Punjab Kings skipper being dropped. Iyer hasn’t been part of the Indian T20i side since December 2023, however he would have expected to be at least included in the standby list on the strength of his performances in the IPL and recent ODIs. As it turns out, he will have to watch another tournament from the sidelines.

Finally, the lineup is the first in a major tournament to feature neither Rohit Sharma nor Virat Kohli, and represents a true passing of the torch to the next generation of Indian cricket. With the T20 World Cup taking place early next year, it’s an ideal opportunity to begin crafting the team that will represent India in that tournament. With 20-or-so matches to go until the World Cup, there’s ample opportunity for existing squad members to seal their place and for those on the sidelines to supplant squad members who fail to claim their berths. And the first stop on that journey is Dubai, where India will lock horns with the UAE on 10 September. You can catch every ball of that match and the rest of the Asia Cup on JioHotStar with OTTplay.

Karan Pradhan is editor-in-chief of Story Mode a gaming and gaming-adjacent magazine. Follow him on X/Twitter @karanpradhan_

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