Former India cricketer Madan Lal has backed India as overwhelming favorites to win the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 tournament, starting on September 09. The expert also said that Kuldeep Yadav will play an important role in India winning the event, and has said he should be included in the playing XI for his X-factor ability, & unique bowling style.
The Suryakumar Yadav-led India will kick off their Continental Cup assignment by playing against hosts UAE on September 10, before facing arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14 in Dubai. The Men in Blue will round off their group stage fixture against Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.
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‘India is a strong favorite due to their skilled team. The unpredictability of the T20 format and the performances of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, noting that Afghanistan is currently playing well. There is controversy over the team combination, particularly the exclusion of Shreyas Iyer, with selections often decided by selectors and coaches... Afghanistan is seen as a potential challenger to Pakistan, whose current performance and confidence levels are questioned. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are considered strong contenders. Kuldeep Yadav should be included in the team due to his unique bowling style, which is difficult to counter in T20 cricket, though the final decision depends on wicket conditions and team combination. Two spinners and three pace bowlers should be included in Dubai," Madan Lal told ANI.
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Kuldeep Yadav set to form a formidable bowling partnership with Varun Chakravarthy
Notably, Kuldeep was excluded from all five Tests against England despite growing calls from experts to include him in the playing XI on a few of the spin-friendly conditions on the tour. However, be his stop-start Test career, the Chinaman has made a solid reputation in the white-ball formats. In the T20Is, he has taken 69 wickets in 40 matches, with a brilliant bowling average of 14.07 and best of 5/71 against South Africa. In the upcoming Asia Cup, the spinner is all set to be picked alongside Chakaravarthy.
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With the pitches tend to assist spinners more in the UAE, India might be tempted to include both the spinners alongside all-rounder Axar Patel. India adopted a similar template during their title-winning Champions Trophy win earlier this year in Dubai.
India’s squad for Asia Cup: Surya Kumar 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
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel
