India are unbeaten so far in the Asia Cup 2025.
Arshdeep Singh played his second Asia Cup 2025 clash against Sri Lanka two nights back. In his spell of 4-0-46-1, he scalped his 101st T20I wicket. But with veterans like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya in the mix, the 26-year-old is having a tough time consistently breaking into the playing combination. As India head into the Final against Pakistan, Arshdeep is once again left out of the IND vs PAK clash
For the Dubai fixture, Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to bowl first. They have made some changes after all-rounder Hardik Pandya is suffering from cramps. Jasprit Bumrah also comes back into the attack. The Men in Green are coming into this fixture with an unchanged XI.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (w), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (w), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Abrar Ahmed.
After the Sri Lanka dead rubber, the Indian skipper made a few changes for the summit clash. Bumrah and Shivam Dube are back in the playing XI, while Arshdeep and Harshit Rana miss out.
India were already through the Final ahead of the last fixture on Friday. Thus, Suryakumar rested Bumrah in the wake of workload management, while trying to use the players who hadn’t gotten a chance to play in the tournament. Arshdeep was the first choice, given his strong T20I credentials. Moreover, Rana was also included in the mix.
Overall, Arshdeep played two matches in the tournament. He picked up two wickets in total, while leaking 80+ runs. However, in the Super Over from two nights back, the 26-year-old gave away just two runs under pressure.
Coming back to the Final where India are facing the arch-rivals for the third time, the Men in Blue are beginning their match with Bumrah leading the pace department. Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, and Axar Patel are the primary spinners. Additionally, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, and Abhishek Sharma can also chip in with a few overs if/when needed.
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Factually speaking, no one is responsible for Arshdeep’s omission.
The Punjab pacer has proven himself time and again. He created history last week, becoming the first Indian to complete 100 T20I wickets. Barring the economy rate, Arshdeep’s T20I stats surpass Bumrah’s. The sheer choice of playing an extra batter, as well as using three spinners for the Dubai decks, has led to Arshdeep’s absence from the playing combination.
The left-armer has returned wicketless just 10 times in his T20I career of 64 games. He is also a death over specialist, which means Bumrah’s workload in the 20-over format can be managed better in Arshdeep’s presence.
Overall, the young pacer has no reason to warm the benches. It’s just a choice by the management with respect to the playing conditions, team combination, and opting for more experienced players in Bumrah.
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