India’s Asia Cup 2025 Squad & Preview

 

India’s Asia Cup 2025 Squad & Preview

Key Details

• Captain: Suryakumar Yadav

• Vice-Captain: Shubman Gill (Reuters, BCCI, NDTV Sports, Indiatimes, icc)

• Hosts: United Arab Emirates (Dubai & Abu Dhabi)

• Dates: 9–28 September 2025

• Format: T20 Internationals with group stage followed by Super Four and final (Reuters, BCCI, Asia Cup 2025, Wikipedia)

Full Squad (15 Players)

1. Suryakumar Yadav (C)

2. Shubman Gill (VC)

3. Abhishek Sharma

4. Tilak Varma

5. Hardik Pandya

6. Shivam Dube

7. Axar Patel

8. Jitesh Sharma (WK)

9. Sanju Samson (WK)

10. Jasprit Bumrah

11. Arshdeep Singh

12. Varun Chakravarthy

13. Kuldeep Yadav

14. Harshit Rana

15. Rinku Singh (BCCI, The Times of India, icc, Reuters, The Indian Express)

Standby Players

• Yashasvi Jaiswal

• Prasidh Krishna

• Washington Sundar

• Riyan Parag

• Dhruv Jurel (BCCI, Hindustan Times, The Times of India)

Controversies & Headlines

• Omissions made headlines: Notably, IPL stars Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal were excluded from the main squad—which sparked considerable debate. (Reuters, Indiatimes, NDTV Sports)

• Speculations of favoritism surfaced, particularly surrounding the inclusion of Harshit Rana and Rinku Singh, fueling accusations of bias toward players affiliated with the KKR franchise and coach Gautam Gambhir. (Indiatimes)

• Selection clarity: Ajit Agarkar defended choices, emphasizing squad balance and limited spots, while confirming Yashasvi and Iyer were left out mainly due to the need to accommodate all-round abilities and strategic composition. (NDTV Sports, Indiatimes, The Times of India, Navbharat Times)

India’s Asia Cup 2025 Match Schedule

Match	Date	Opponent	Venue
1	Sep 10, 2025	UAE	Dubai International Stadium
2	Sep 14, 2025	Pakistan	Dubai International Stadium
3	Sep 19, 2025	Oman	Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

What It All Means

• Leadership shift: With SKY’s captaincy and Gill’s vice-captaincy, BCCI appears to be transitioning toward a new leadership core, aligning with future global events like the T20 World Cup. (Reuters, NDTV Sports, Indiatimes)

• Balanced squad: The combination of explosive batting (e.g., Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma), spin options (Kuldeep, Axar, Varun), and pace firepower (Bumrah, Arshdeep) creates a versatile setup suitable for UAE conditions.

• Debates around bench strength: While omissions disappointed many fans, the squad’s depth and role clarity may prove decisive in key matches. Observers will closely watch how selections pay off on the field.