Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 19 : Team India for the Asia Cup 2025 was unveiled on Tuesday, with skipper Suryakumar Yadav leading the squad and Shubman Gill as his deputy with several major names missing out.
The squad was announced during a press conference attended by T20I skipper Suryakumar and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, which was held after a selection meeting which also featured the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia.
India will kick off their campaign against the UAE on September 10, while the high-voltage game against Pakistan is scheduled for the September 14, with both fixtures set to be played in Dubai. India will play their final group stage fixture against Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.
After the group stage, the tournament will proceed to the Super 4, where the top two teams from each group will qualify. If India finishes at the top of Group A, then all of their Super 4 matches will be held in Dubai. If India finishes second, then one of their Super 4 clashes will be held in Abu Dhabi and the remaining two in Dubai. The Super 4 stage will run from September 20 to 26. Dubai will host the final, which is scheduled for September 28
Suryakumar is the captain of a formidable Team India, who have been in stunning form since their ICC T20 World Cup win last year, having won 10 out of 13 matches since the marquee tournament and losing just two.
Gill, who was the captain for the T20I tour to Zimbabwe just after the T20 WC, was leading a side which featured mostly newer players, will now play his first T20I competition since July 2024 as a vice-captain. In 21 T20Is, Gill has made 578 runs in 21 innings at an average of 30.42, with a strike rate of 139.27. He has scored a century and three fifties, with the best score of 126*. He was also Surya's deputy during the T20I series against Sri Lanka away from home last year. After this series, he was omitted from T20Is to focus mainly on a heavy Test season with tours to Australia and England and the ICC Champions Trophy.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Gill scored 650 runs in 15 innings at an average of 50.00, with a strike rate of 155.87, with six fifties and a best score of 93*, ending as the fourth-highest run-getter in the tournament.
During the tour of England consisting of five Tests, Gill displayed exemplary leadership qualities as a captain, leading a new-look team without legends like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin to a well-fought 2-2 draw. He also scored a whopping 754 runs with the bat, including four tons and a best score of 269.
Axar Patel, who was elevated to the vice-captaincy following the Sri Lanka white-ball tour, has now been removed from the position of vice-captaincy.
Jitesh Sharma, has been chosen as a back-up wicketkeeper-batter for Sanju Samson, who found a new lease of life as a T20I opener for Team India with three centuries in a quick succession. He played T20Is last time for India in January last year and scored 100 runs in nine matches across seven innings at an average of 14.28.
However, he shined for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) win for the first time this year, scoring 261 runs in 11 innings at an average of 37.28 and a strike rate of 176.35, with a crucial 85* against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and a quickfire 24 in 10 balls during the final against Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Some big misses in the top order in the main squad include Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer, who had incredible IPL seasons this year for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). Jaiswal is not in the main squad, but rather in the reserves group alongside all-rounder Washington Sundar, all-rounder Riyan Parag, pacer Prasidh Krishna and wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel. Notably, Krishna was the Purple Cap holder for most wickets in IPL 2025, with 25 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 19.52.
Openers Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar and Gill form a fiery top order in the main squad, with Varma having nailed the number three spot to the perfection. In 13 T20Is as India's designated number three, Tilak has managed 443 runs at an average of 55.37, with a strike rate of almost 170, with two centuries and two fifties.
Jaiswal was the back-up opener ahead of Gill for the T20 World Cup last year. He was the backup as India wanted to open with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Having made 723 runs in 23 T20Is with a century and five fifties at a strike rate of over 164 throughout his career, Jaiswal's 559-run IPL 2025 season (in 14 matches with six fifties at SR of almost 160), brought back the leftie into T20I conversations.
Iyer ended up as the sixth-highest run-getter in IPL 2025 and had his best season, scoring 604 runs in 17 matches and innings at an average of 50.33, strike rate of 175.07 and six fifties. His best score was 97*. He played a massive role in taking PBKS to their first IPL final since 2014, but the team fell short by six runs to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
India has a solid list of all-rounders, with Abhishek, Axar being capable spinners as well. Also in pace-bowling all-rounder department, the hard-hitting pair of Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube is present. In Rinku Singh, they have a reliable finisher. This is of course, without considering the reserves players list.
The pace department looks solid, with return of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah to T20Is as a big bonus. His last T20I was the T20 WC final against South Africa, where he took two crucial wickets and unleashed a pace choke in the death overs to power India to a narrow win. He ended as the 'Player of the Tournament' with 15 wickets in eight innings at an average of 8.26.
Bumrah recently took 14 wickets in three Test matches, including two five-wicket hauls during the tour of England in Test cricket and has been a vital part of India's Test set-up. His workload has been heavily managed, and it would be interesting what would be done to take care of him in the Asia Cup. Alongside him in the pace department are Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana as frontline pacers.
Kuldeep Yadav, who did not feature in the Test series against England, is a part of the team, with his last T20I being the T20 WC final as well last year. His partner-in-spin would be Varun Chakravarthy, who has been on a rampage since his return to white-ball cricket last year. In 18 T20Is, he has picked 33 wickets at an average of 14.57 with two five-wicket hauls to his name. He was also a part of India's ICC Champions Trophy-winning campaign.
Team India squad for Asia Cup: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Reserve players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
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