Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer were the two notable omissions from India’s T20 squad for the Asia Cup 2025. However, according to former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif, the Men in Blue might miss the 25-year-old all-rounder, for the balance of the side.
Former India batter Mohammad Kaif reckoned that India will miss Washington Sundar at the upcoming Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Kaif reckoned that, three all-rounders, with two being Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel, have been key to India’s T20 success of late, including the T20 World Cup, where Ravindra Jadeja was also part of the top seven in the batting order and balancing the side without a proper No 8 in the squad.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer were the two notable omissions from India’s T20 squad for the Asia Cup but as per Kaif, India will have to find a new winning formula without someone like Sundar in the side, which increases chances of Shivam Dube featuring in the starting XI.
“Rohit’s team won the T20 World Cup with 3 all-rounders – Axar, Jadeja, Hardik – and that meant 6 proper bowling options and batting till 8. At Asia Cup, with only 2 genuine allrounders – Hardik and Axar. – India will have to find a new winning combination. Washington Sundar will be missed,” Kaif wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Sundar was part of India’s T20 setup against England at home earlier this year, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka last year as well, following the T20 World Cup.
However, with Kuldeep Yadav returning and Varun Chakravarthy being irreplaceable, Sundar wouldn’t have been able to make the playing XI since Axar Patel will start as the spin bowling all-rounder. Sundar has performed either with bat or ball whenever he has gotten a chance but would have been restricted to the bench. Instead, India decided to have an extra batting option in the middle in the form of Rinku Singh, with Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube being the pace-bowling all-rounders.
Since Shubman Gill has returned as part of the all-format leadership plan of the team management going forward, the playing XI will be tinkered with to adjust him in the side, while balancing the rest of the order according to him. The prospect of playing all four of Kuldeep, Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh looks ridiculously delicious but will the ‘batting depth-obsessed’ coach attempt a bowling-heavy XI? That will be interesting to see.
India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
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