India will open their Asia Cup 2025 campaign against the UAE on September 10.
Ahead of the tournament, former all-rounder Irfan Pathan shares his strongest XI for Team India, which will begin their Asia Cup title defence against the UAE on September 10.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Irfan picked world No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma as opener along with the vice-captain Shubman Gill. He slotted the second-ranked T20I batter Tilak Varma at No. 3, followed by skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
While many experts believe that Gill’s return to the T20I squad as deputy will cost Sanju Samson his place in the playing XI, Irfan has named the wicketkeeper as a No. 5 batter.
Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel are two all-rounders in Pathan’s preferred XI. The bowling attack features Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy as spinners while Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh made it to the side as pacers.
Irfan Pathan’s strongest India XI for Asia Cup: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy
India will open their Asia Cup 2025 campaign against the UAE on September 10, followed by the marquee clash with Pakistan on September 14 and a group-stage fixture versus Oman on September 19. The playoffs begin on September 20.
India squad for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar 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
Stand-bys: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal