The India men’s cricket team clinched the Asia Cup 2025 title on Sunday with a thrilling win over arch rivals Pakistan. In a tournament where the focus was more on political tensions and off-field drama, the Men in Blue pretty much sailed through.
India did have a huge scare in the final at 20 for 3 but Tilak Varma stepped up with a composed 69 not out in 53 deliveries. Perhaps the most impressive part of their title-winning campaign was that they were far from their best and barely looked in trouble.
Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t at his usual best, Shubman Gill wasn’t fluent, and captain Suryakumar Yadav struggled to buy a run throughout the competition. The team selections weren’t optimal either and the batting order was a mess. Despite it all, they won the title.
India will be heavy favourites heading into the T20 World Cup 2026. Facing the likes of Australia, South Africa, and England is a bigger challenge than what they had to in the Asia Cup. For that, they have to be better than they were in the UAE. We take a look at ways the SKY-led side can improve.
One of the most debated topics for India in the Asia Cup was the number three spot. They had Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, and Tilak Varma suitable for the position. Samson has batted in the top three for the majority of his career so there were question marks whether he can bat down the order.
Suryakumar is someone who has done well at number three and four. Moving him to number four would not hurt his game. But letting Tilak bat at three would improve his and the team’s prospects significantly.
The left-hand batter has several weaknesses, including his game against spin. But if there’s one thing that makes him special it is his temperament. In overall T20 cricket, Tilak has remained unbeaten 20 times while chasing the target. His team has won all 20 of those games. He has played some exceptional knocks under pressure and that ability is crucial. India should give him more time in the middle.
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The team management, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, opted for a spin-heavy strategy in the Asia Cup. The trio of Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel did an excellent job, combining for a total of 31 wickets in the tournament.
However, to play three spinners, they had to sacrifice one pacer, with all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube as other options. The spin choke worked well but the quality of batting units they faced wasn’t great either. Against better batting line-ups, this strategy of only one specialist pacer could backfire India big time.
Arshdeep Singh has done well whenever he has had opportunities. He was the joint highest wicket-taker in the previous T20 World Cup edition. He also has the bowling smarts and is a terrific death overs bowler along with the new ball. India need to find a way to fit him in the playing XI.
Hardik Pandya has been the designated finisher for India in white-ball cricket for a few years now. He has been an integral part of the team with his all-round skill set but his batting has not been what it used to be a few years back.
While still being a pretty good striker, Hardik has obvious weaknesses against hard-length deliveries. More and more teams across international cricket and IPL are looking to expose this area. Which means the team can not rely on him to finish the game single-handedly.
The team management has played Dube but like Hardik, he too has similar issues. India have won the last 32 T20Is Dube has played in and that is a ridiculous stat but they still need to find a better finisher. Fortunately, they have Rinku Singh, who is a solid hitter of hard-length pace bowling. But to get him in, India will have to sacrifice an extra bowling option.
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