The Ajit Agarkar-headed selection committee will announce India’s 15-member squad for the 2025 Asia Cup on Tuesday (August 19). India’s first-choice players are available for selection and the selectors would be spoilt for choice.
Suryakumar Yadav is likely to be fit and he will lead the Men in Blue in the continental tournament. A few days before the selection meeting, Mohammad Kaif picked his squad for the tournament. The former India batsman included Shubman Gill in the team but made a shocking call to keep him out of the playing XI.
Kaif, who picked the squad on his YouTube channel, also dropped Varun Chakaravarthy from the playing XI. The mystery spinner scalped nine wickets in 3 matches he played in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Kaif’s Asia Cup team
Kaif picked and Abhishek Sharma as openers of his team. Tilak Varma will bat at number 3 and will be followed by Suryakumar Yadav. Kaif has appointed Axar Patel as the vice-captain of his T20I team.
The left-arm spinner assisted Suryakumar in the T20I series against England earlier this year in the absence of Shubman. The right-handed batsman is the designated vice-captain of India’s white-ball teams. He is India’s present red-ball captain.
Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma and Mohammed Siraj are other players in Kaif’s team. Shubman, Siraj, Jitesh and Chakaravarthy will stay on the bench.
India’s Asia Cup schedule
India will kick off their Asia Cup campaign against UAE on September 10. They will face Pakistan on September 14. India will take on Oman in their last league stage match on September 19. India and Pakistan could potentially lock horns thrice. The final of the ACC event will be played on September 28. The BCCI is the host of the Asia Cup.