Asia Cup 2025: Key talking points ahead of India's squad selection
India's selectors meet on Tuesday to finalise the squad for the
Asia Cup
in the UAE.
TOI looks into the issues they are likely to discuss...
Focus on T20 specialists:
Indian selectors aim to maintain continuity and back young T20I specialists.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Surya secure as leader?
Suryakumar Yadav
, after clearing a BCCI fitness test, is set to continue as T20 captain, potentially through to the 2026 T20 World Cup.
The Gill dilemma: Despite
Shubman Gill
's stellar IPL-2025 (650 runs, avg 50, strike-rate 155.87 as Gujarat Titans skipper), selectors are likely to exclude him from the Asia Cup squad. The focus is likely to be on boundary-hitting prowess.
Samson, Abhishek to open?
Sanju Samson (three T20I hundreds last year) and Abhishek Sharma (explosive 135 vs England earlier this year) are seen as firstchoice openers.
Tilak Varma at No. 3:
Despite an average IPL, Varma's two T20I hundreds in South Africa guarantee his spot, highlighting the priority of international form over IPL stats.
Jaiswal as third opener?
Yashasvi Jaiswal is touted to be the preferred third opener over Gill, primarily due to his hitting abilities in the Powerplay.
What happens to Shreyas Iyer?
Shreyas Iyer, despite a strong IPL (captaining Punjab Kings to the final) and top-scoring in the 2025 Champions Trophy (243 runs), faces stiff competition from left-handed big-hitters like Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh: Unsold Furniture Liquidation 2024 (Prices May Surprise You)
Unsold Furniture | Search Ads
Learn More
Undo
Bumrah good to go:
The ace pacer has confirmed his availability. Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj has been rested. Expect Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna (IPL Purple Cap with 25 wickets) and Harshit Rana to fill the quota of fast bowlers in the squad.
Spin arsenal:
Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel are locked in for the pitches in UAE, blending attack and allround abilities.
Jitesh in the fray:
Jitesh Sharma, IPL champion with RCB, is likely to get the nod as backup 'keeper due to his finishing skills.
RECENT INDIA T20 SQUADS vs England:
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Axar Patel (vc), Abhishek Sharma,
Hardik Pandya
, Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy.
In 2024 T20 World Cup:
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
a few seconds ago
- Hindustan Times
Prithvi Shaw gets no support from past and present Indian cricketers: 'I don't want sympathy, no one is perfect'
Prithvi Shaw marked his move to Maharashtra in the domestic circuit with emphasis, scoring a century on debut for his new state team in a one-man-show during their Buchi Babu Trophy match against Chhattisgarh. In response to their opponents putting up 242, Maharashtra could only score 217 — 111 of those runs coming from Shaw's bat, making this an early score of significance. Prithvi Shaw raises his bat enroute to his century at the Guru Nanak College Ground in Chennai during the Buchi Babu Trophy.(Hindu) Shaw's struggles with discipline and fitness in recent years have been a common talking point as one of India's most promising talents faded from the spotlight, but such an innings is an indication that the 25-year-old can still go on to forge a career to be proud of. 'I don't mind coming from scratch again because I've seen many ups and downs in my life … I'm kind of a very confident guy, confident in myself, my work ethics. I feel, I hope that this season will go really well for me as well as for my team,' said Shaw after close of day's play. Shaw was his typical attacking self as he reached his half-century at over a run-a-ball: while the opening partnership was worth 71, his partner only scored 10. After that, the wickets started tumbling at the other end, including a returning Ruturaj Gaikwad, who could only score 1. Nevertheless, Shaw stayed positive and batted through, ensuring the deficit was under control. 'Social media, it's quite bad…' Speaking about what had changed for him to bring about such a performance, Shaw maintained it was just a matter of fine-tuning and fixing the small mistakes, rather than trying for a sensational change. 'I don't want to change anything. I just went back to basics, doing things that I used to do in Under-19 days, which got me to the Indian team, just doing all the stuff back again, you know,' explained the 25-year-old, who last played for India in 2021. 'Practicing more, gym, running. It's small things, obviously, it's not that big because I've been doing these things since the age of 12 and 13.' He also went on to explain that sharpening things up on the discipline front included keeping track of what sort of information he took in, which meant staying away from social media and not allowing himself to focus on the negativity that it brings. 'Just trying to be myself and not really trying to be on social media or anything and those kinds of distractions. Nowadays social media, it's quite bad. It's kind of peaceful when I'm not using it,' explained Shaw, who has found himself on the wrong end of critical attacks in the past. 'I was not really well mentally…' However, most telling from Shaw's perspective was his response to whether he had heard from any former players or teammates regarding his century and a good start to this new phase. The answer was a resounding no, but Shaw maintained this wasn't something he was striving for at this stage of his career. 'I mean, it's fine. I mean, I don't want anyone's sympathy. It's okay. I've seen this before as well. I've got my family's support. And my friends who were there with me when I was not really well mentally as well. So, it's okay,' concluded the batter, who will be hoping this is just step one of the rest of his career.
Time of India
22 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Axar Patel deserves an explanation for removal from vice-captaincy': Ex-India star slams decision
Axar Patel (BCCI Photo) NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer and commentator Mohammad Kaif has raised concerns over Axar Patel losing the vice-captaincy of the Indian T20I side, with Shubman Gill taking over the role. Patel, who was named deputy to Suryakumar Yadav for the five-match series against England earlier this year, was replaced following Gill's return to T20Is after a year-long absence. Taking to social media, Kaif questioned the manner in which the change was handled. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! "I hope Axar Patel was informed about his removal from vice-captaincy in advance and he didn't come to know about it from the press conference. Axar did no wrong so he deserves an explanation," Kaif posted. Patel has cemented his place as a dependable all-rounder across formats, making key contributions in India's T20 World Cup 2024 triumph. He was named Player of the Match in the semi-final against England for his spell of 3/23. In the final against South Africa, Patel played another pivotal role, scoring 47 off 31 balls when India were reeling at 34/3, and later dismissing Tristan Stubbs to tilt the game in India's favor. Overall, Patel's T20I record highlights his consistency — 531 runs at a strike rate of 139.32, along with 71 wickets at an average of 22.12 from 71 matches. India Asia Cup squad press conference: What Ajit Agarkar, Surya said on shocking calls For the upcoming Asia Cup , India's selectors have included two other spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy, in the squad. Among the notable exclusions are Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal. India will open their Asia Cup campaign against hosts UAE on September 10. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Hindustan Times
31 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
England expects at Women's Rugby World Cup
Tournament hosts England head into the Women's Rugby World Cup as strong favourites but are under huge pressure to end more than 20 years of disappointment in the sport's showpiece event. England expects at Women's Rugby World Cup The Red Roses have lost only once in their past 58 matches a defeat by New Zealand in the Covid-delayed 2022 World Cup final. England, however, have finished runners-up in five of the last six World Cup finals to New Zealand, with the 2014 edition providing their most recent global 15-a-side title. In a bid to help them take the final step to global glory, they appointed New Zealand's John Mitchell as their coach in 2023. The problems facing the England team are similar to the ones Mitchell encountered as coach of the men's All Blacks when he was unable to steer them to World Cup triumph at the 2003 edition. "He'll tell you straight if you're getting something wrong and he wants the best for you," England full-back Ellie Kildunne told AFP in an interview. That England nearly blew a 31-7 lead against France in the final match of their seventh successive Six Nations title-winning campaign in April before edging home 43-42 may have been a blessing in disguise. New Zealand's Black Ferns will look to dash English hopes once again, with Portia Woodman-Wickliffe looking to go out on a high in what promises to be the 34-year-old wing's last major tournament. Already both a two-time World Cup-winner and twice an Olympic Sevens gold medallist, most recently at last year's Paris Games, Woodman-Wickliffe told AFP: "This World Cup was never on my agenda, I never really planned to go to it. "But I thought I'm still enjoying XVs, why not give this a crack. If I don't make it fine, it's cool. But if I do make it, then it will be one last ride." Canada, who recently held New Zealand, remain the biggest threat to the Black Ferns and the Red Roses, in a tournament featuring an expanded 16 teams, with the top two in each of the four pools qualifying for the quarter-finals. Ireland, who failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, have been drawn in the same pool as New Zealand a team they beat in last year's WXV tournament, introduced to raise the overall standard of the women's game, in a shock upset. But for officials this World Cup is also about growing the game in all aspects, on and off the field. England open the event against the United States in Sunderland on Friday, with the visitors boasting a breakout social media star in Ilona Maher. The 29-year-old American has attracted over eight million followers, not only through her sporting exploits but also for her promotion of body positivity. Even before the first whistle has been blown, this Women's World Cup has set records, with Brazil the first South American side to feature in the tournament's 34-year history. Meanwhile, organisers said Tuesday they expected the September 27 final at Twickenham to feature a sell-out crowd of over 80,000 a record for any women's rugby match. The existing record for a women's 15-a-side fixture is 58,498, set as England clinched the 2023 Six Nations Grand Slam by beating France 38-33 at Twickenham, with 66,000 attending the opening day of the women's Rugby Sevens at last year's Paris Olympics. Officials also announced that more than 375,000 tickets have been sold across all 32 matches at this World Cup. "We're ready to break records in attendances, viewership and engagement," tournament director Sarah Massey said during Tuesday's launch event at Twickenham. "This is going to be the biggest global celebration of women's rugby that we have ever seen." And for the first time there will be three women head coaches in Gaelle Mignot , Jo Yapp and Lesley McKenzie at a Women's Rugby World Cup. But while England are fully professional, many of their rivals are still only semi-professional or even amateur, with the BBC reporting more than half of Scotland's squad fear being left without a professional deal after the World Cup. "There is no doubt that we will have teams at a different stage of their professional development and that will reflect in some of the scorelines," said World Rugby Chief of Women's Rugby, Sally Horrox, at Tuesday's launch. But she added the launch of the WXV tournament in 2023 had led to "a raising of standards and a narrowing in terms of competitive margins". jdg/nf This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
