Cricketer-turned-expert Mohammad Kaif stated that India will miss the shrewd and astute brilliance of Rohit Sharma's captaincy in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 campaign. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side will kick off their Continental Cup campaign against hosts UAE on Wednesday, September 10.
Ahead of the Men in Blue's opening encounter, Kaif opined that the team had three all-rounders during their title-winning run in the T20 World Cup 2024. However, now, India boasts of only two all-rounders - Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel. While Shivam Dube is in the squad, there is no guarantee that he will play in the playing 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 the Asia Cup, with only 2 genuine allrounders - Hardik and Axar- India will have to find a new winning combination. Washington Sundar will be missed,” wrote Kaif on his X account.
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Notably, while announcing the Continental Cup squad, Chief selector Ajit Agarkar stated that they already had three spinners in the squad, and hence they went with Rinku Singh instead of all-rounder Washington Sundar, who was named as a stand-by-player.
"He's (Sundar) always been in the scheme of things. At the moment, we have two mystery spinners/wristspinners in Varun and Kuldeep, and Axar has been around for a while. When we need four spinners, he may always be in the mix. For now, we felt we needed an extra batter in Rinku. And you could only pick 15. If there were 16, maybe he could've been in," Agarkar had said in the press conference.
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India aims to continue their rich form in T20Is during Asia Cup 2025 event
Under Suryakumar Yadav, India have been playing a fearless brand of cricket, winning all the T20 bilateral series since the T20 World Cup 2024. The message is clear from the management: to just keep hitting. This ultra-aggressive strategy was first bought by Rohit Sharma, and the flame is now carried by Surya. Even when India loses early wickets, the batters still play their shots due to deep batting depth.
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Asia Cup is also the first time India will play a multi-team event after the T20 WC 2024. It is from here that the team's quest for their T20 WC title defense will begin. India will be aiming to play the same bold brand of cricket and look to defend their Asia Cup title.
