India will be defending their Asia Cup title in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
India will embark on a sojourn in September to the UAE to defend their Asia Cup title after a rather fruitful performance in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England.
The obvious involvement of neighbours Pakistan has complicated the logistics of the tournament exactly like the Champions Trophy 2025 which was originally set to be hosted by Pakistan but was moved partially to Dubai.
India are expected to field a strong squad as they go into their first multi-nation tournament as T20 world champions.
After winning the title in June last year, India have looked unstoppable in the shortest format by winning all the series against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Bangladesh and England.
However, going into the Asia Cup 2025 there are still four questions persisting.
AUSA-W
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INDA-W
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ROR
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TBW
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VSS
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BVB
–
SKA
–
ABF
–
RJM
–
SOS
–
ZGA
–
RJM
–
SOS
–
ZGA
–
ZGW
–
SOS
–
ZGA
–
RJM
–
SOS
–
ZGW
–
ZAS
–
ZGA
–
SOS
–
RJM
–
ZGA
–
ZAS
–
ZGA
–
SOS
–
DURH
–
MID
–
LEI
–
NOT
–
BB
–
KENT
–
WOR
–
HAM
–
SURR
–
GLAM
–
YOR
–
SOM
–
BCC
–
GUG
–
LLG
–
MUR
–
NK
–
NWW
–
JJ
–
SBSCC
–
NCMI
–
BCC
–
CEC-A
–
KGC
–
KRMPS
–
BCC
–
BNB
–
HBT
–
MGD
–
SML
–
MYW
–
MGD
–
GBM
–
BNB
–
SLBL
–
SLGY
–
SLGR
–
SLGY
–
SOB
–
NOS
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WEF
–
MAO
–
LOS
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TRR
–
SBW-W
–
NOS-W
–
WFW-W
–
MOW-W
–
LSW-W
–
TRW-W
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Shubman Gill’s ascendancy to leadership roles in Tests and ODIs has already happened beginning with the successful Champions Trophy 2025 where he was Rohit Sharma’s deputy and led India brilliantly in his first outing as the Test skipper by contributing a whopping 754 runs in a thrilling drawn series. His ODI form has also been irresistible, having scored four consecutive 50-plus scores in his last 10 innings. In T20s, Gill has been equally potent, having raked up 650 runs from 15 matches for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
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If the recent report by PTI turns out to be true, Gill will take Axar Patel’s position as Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy for the Asia Cup 2025. Even though he hasn’t played a single T20I in the last one year, Gill looks like he can do no wrong right now.
Bumrah’s workload management has become a point of contention between pundits as many of them were critical of the management’s decision to play him in only three of the five Test in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Starting with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Bumrah bowled 285 overs across three competitions which put a significant stress on his body which has gone through multiple injuries. After missing the Champions Trophy 2025 and some of the IPL 2025 games, Bumrah was bound to be protected in the England Tests. But playing him in the Asia Cup within the next four weeks, seems like a gamble. However, reports suggest that the senior bowler will take part in the tournament as India prepares for their title defence of the T20 World Cup in sub-continental conditions.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has become an indispensable part of the Test team since last year, but the youngster’s participation in white-ball formats has been limited. Despite being part of the World Cup win in the Caribbean last year, Jaiswal hasn’t played a T20I since July last year. The left-hander hasn’t played an international game besides opener and it has become an issue with his inclusion.
After the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma have laid stake for the opening spots. Their rollicking form has made things tougher for Jaiswal, who is unable to break into the ODI team either. Unless there is a fitness issue, Jaiswal looks to be benched for the Asia Cup 2025.
Harshit Rana’s breakout season in the IPL 2024 with Kolkata Knight Riders has led to his debut across all formats recently. After making his Test debut against Australia, he got his ODI and T20I debuts against England at home and has fared decently well. Considering the inclusion of Bumrah and fixed spot for Arshdeep in the playing XI, it would be imperative the third seamer’s spot goes to Prasidh Krishna. Krishna suffered in all but the second innings of the fifth Test at The Oval against England as his lengths were ideal for T20 cricket but was too loose for red-ball cricket.
He was the best bowler in IPL 2025 with 25 wickets from 15 matches at an economy of 8. His variations and consistent lines in the IPL can translate well on the flat decks in Abu Dhabi and Dubai where India have recently won a title.
