The BCCI selection committee is set to announce the India squad for Asia Cup 2025 next week. Key decisions include Bumrah’s availability, Gill’s potential vice-captaincy, and Suryakumar Yadav’s fitness.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, is expected to announce the India squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 next week. The 17th edition of the prestigious continental cricket tournament will take place from September 9 to 28.
The Men in Blue will enter the Asia Cup 2025 as the defending champions of the tournament, having won the title. They will begin their quest to defend the title when they take on the hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE), on September 10. The upcoming edition of the Asia Cup will be in a T20 format, and Team India will miss two batting stalwarts, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, as they retired from T20Is last year.
Ahead of India’s squad selection for the Asia Cup 2025, the BCCI selectors will reportedly take some tricky calls to assemble a balanced squad, given the absence of senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Will Jasprit Bumrah play the Asia Cup 2025?
Earlier, the reports suggested that the Team India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is unlikely to feature in the Asia Cup 2025 to manage his workload before the two-match Test series against West Indies at home. In the recently concluded England Test tour, Bumrah played only three matches out of five, which were decided before the series by the selectors and team management, and was rested for the Oval Decider, which India won to draw the series.
Given his past injury concerns, the selectors might not want to risk Bumrah in a high-intensity T20 tournament, keeping him fully fresh and fit for the Test series against West Indies. However, as per the report by Press Trust of India (PTI), the 31-year-old is set to be available for the Asia Cup 2025.
If Bumrah is available to play the continental tournament, the pacer might be rested for the opening Test of the series against West Indies at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 2.
If India reaches the final, which will take place on September 28, Bumrah would have just three days to recover and prepare for the first Test, which might prompt selectors and management to consider easing him into the series rather than playing him in back-to-back high-pressure matches.
Shubman Gill in line for the vice-captaincy role
Shubman Gill is reportedly considered for the leadership role, with the position of vice-captain for the Asia Cup 2025. This can be hinted at as his potential selection to the India squad for the eight-team continental tournament.
The consideration for the vice-captaincy role came after he had successfully led Team India to a thrilling five-match Test series with a dramatic six-run victory at the Oval. It was his first assignment as a Test captain, and yet managed to deny England a series win in their backyard. Moreover, Gill also led the team from the front with the bat as he emerged as the highest run-getter of the series, amassing 754 runs, including 4 centuries, at an average of 75.4 in 10 innings.
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Though Gill is considered for the vice-captaincy role, the 25-year-old is in contention with Axar Patel, who was Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy for the T20I series against England at home earlier this year. It was reported that Axar Patel is unlikely to be India’s vice-captain in the T20Is, as the selectors were reportedly looking at Shubman Gill for a leadership role.
Apart from being the Test captain, Shubman Gill is also the ODI vice-captain and was Rohit Sharma’s deputy in the Champions Trophy 2025, and has also Gujarat Titans in the last two seasons of the Indian Premier League.
BCCI selectors await the medical and fitness tests of players
The BCCI selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, will take a call on squad selection after they receive medical bulletins of all the players who are in contention for a spot in the India squad for the Asia Cup 2025.
There is an uncertainty over Suryakumar Yadav’s fitness as he underwent surgery for a sports hernia in Germany and began his rehabilitation and recovery at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. As per the report by Times of India (TOI), the swashbuckling right-handed batter required another week of recovery to gain full fitness ahead of the Asia Cup 2025.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Hardik Pandya had checked in at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to undergo a routine fitness assessment. Before Pandya, middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer underwent a fitness assessment between July 27 and 29, and it remains to be seen whether selectors will take a call on Punjab Kings’ captain’s inclusion in the India squad.
India’s top 5 batting line-up likely to remain unchanged
As per the report by Press Trust of India (PTI), India’s top 5 batting line-up, which was formed under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy likely to remain unchanged for the Asia Cup 2025.
The source close to the BCCI stated that the selectors are unlikely to tinker with the top five, which consists of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar, Tilak Varma, and Hardik Pandya.
“Abhishek Sharma is world’s No. 1 T20 batter in the latest ICC rankings. Sanju Samson has been fantastic last season with both bat and gloves. So it will certainly be a tough call, but Shubman in current form (although in Tests) can’t be ignored. He had a good IPL also. The problem for selectors is, there are too many performers at the top of the order,” a BCCI source told PTI.
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Considering that the BCCI selectors and team management to stick with the same top 5 of the batting line-up, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan are unlikely to make the squad.
Dhruv Jurel or Jitesh Sharma? Second wicketkeeper choice
Sanju Samson is likely to be picked as the first wicketkeeper-batter for the Asia Cup 2025, but the selectors will have to choose between Dhruv Jurel and Jitesh Sharma for the backup role. Jurel was part of the India squad for the last T20I series against England and recently featured in the Oval Test against England.
Jitesh Sharma, on the other hand, had a great outing with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the last IPL season, amassing 291 runs, including a fifty, at an average of 37.29 and a strike rate of 176.35 in 15 matches. Sharma has an exceptional finish ability, which can be evidenced by his impressive 85-run knock against Lucknow Super Giants this year.
Therefore, the selectors will have to carefully pick the second wicketkeeper option for the Asia Cup 2025.
Four all-rounders to be picked for the Asia Cup
Hardik Pandya is undoubtedly a primary all-rounder for the Asia Cup, and the selectors are expected to add three more all-rounders to the squad. Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, and Washington are likely to be included in the squad.
Axar Patel is likely to spearhead the spin bowling attack in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, who retired from the T20Is after India’s T20 World Cup triumph last year. Shivam Dube had a great comeback in the T20I series against England, scoring 83 runs in two matches, strengthening his case as a reliable middle-order batter.
While Washington Sundar will be India’s spin bowling all-rounder, his performance in the recently concluded Test series against England, where he contributed with both bat and ball in crucial moments, has boosted his chances of featuring prominently in the Asia Cup 2025 squad.
Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar Reddy is likely to be ruled out of the Asia Cup 2025 due to an injury sustained during the England tour.
Selection dilemma over the 3rd pace bowling option
Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh are expected to be included as two pace bowling specialists in the squad, but the dilemma is over the selection of the third fast bowling option for the Asia Cup.
The selectors will have to choose between Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna. In the T20I series against England, Rana picked up three wickets and conceded 33 runs in his debut match in Pune. He also picked 15 wickets for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the last IPL season.
Prasidh Krishna, who was one of the instrumental players behind India’s victory in the Oval Test, had an impressive IPL 2025, where he emerged as the highest wicket-taker of the season with 25 wickets while playing for the Gujarat Titans.
With both Rana’s promising debut and Prasidh’s proven wicket-taking consistency in the last IPL season, the selectors face a dilemma over picking the third pacer who can best complement Bumrah and Arshdeep in UAE conditions.