India enters Asia Cup cricket campaign with an eye on home Twenty20 World Cup

Suryakumar Yadav’s India lineup will have one eye on an Asia Cup title defense and the other on the Twenty20 World Cup it is co-hosting next year when it opens Group A against United Arab Emirates on Wednesday.

India is the designated host of this 2025 edition of the Asia Cup, although it is being played at a neutral venue in the UAE under Asian Cricket Council’s guidelines for when the continental tournament is scheduled for either India or Pakistan.

The Asia Cup marks a resumption of cricket ties between India and Pakistan only months after the neighbouring countries were engaged in a tense border tension in May that disrupted the IPL and the Pakistan Super League.

India’s government has given the national cricket team permission to play against Pakistan only in multi-nation tournaments.

The first of a potential three meetings at the Asian Cup will be on Sunday – with a chance for more in the Super 4 stage and the Sept. 28 final. India also faces tournament newcomer Oman in the group stage on Sept. 19.

India’s test captain Shubman Gill has returned to the T20 squad after a year out. He last played T20s against Sri Lanka in July 2024 when coach Gautam Gambhir took charge of the Indian team.

Gill scored 754 runs in England as India’s new test skipper, helping the team draw 2-2 in the five-match series, and now returns as T20 vice-captain.

T20 ace Suryakumar Yadav retained captaincy, so there’s some speculation about where Gill will slot into the XI.

“He has been very successful in the IPL. He was part of the Indian team earlier, too. The kind of form he is in, it really augurs well,” India great Sunil Gavaskar, who is part of the commentary panel for the Asia Cup, said. “Having him back was a no-brainer.”

In Gill’s absence, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma formed an attacking opening partnership for India in T20s. While left-hander Sharma has shored up his opening spot with a mix of clever left-arm spin, Samson will be vying with Gill for the other opening slot.

Since July of last year, Samson has scored 487 runs in 17 matches at an impressive strike-rate and hit three centuries. Those three hundreds inflated his run-tally, though, and masked a string of poor scores in between. Samson scored 111, 107 and 109 not out across five innings last October and November against Bangladesh (home) and South Africa (away). Take away those scores and he is left with 160 runs in 13 innings.

Samson does play the dual wicketkeeper-batter role, but should Gill open, Jitesh Sharma provides a middle-order alternative. Sharma helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru win its first IPL trophy and his hitting prowess in the late overs didn’t go unnoticed.

Along with Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh and Hardik Pandya, he provides a solid finishing platform for India, putting Samson’s place in some doubt.

“Samson should be left alone as opener – he is most dangerous at the top and can win you matches,” Ravi Shastri, former India captain and coach, told the Asia Cup’s broadcasters. “Gill can come in for someone else.”

Jasprit Bumrah ‘s fitness and availability leaves Samson’s position as India’s only selection headache. Bumrah featured in three of India’s five tests in England and, after being released from the squad ahead of the fifth test, has had sufficient rest ahead of the Asia Cup. The next T20 World Cup is India’s – and Bumrah’s – foremost assignment and team management is balancing the paceman’s workload.

Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh are expected to share pace duties with Bumrah, while Pandya will back up as the allround pace option. He will share allrounder duties with Axar Patel and Dube. Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy should headline India’s spin attack.

The last Asia Cup played in the T20 format was in 2022, when Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in the final. This edition is a precursor to the T20 World Cup next February, where India will be playing at home and Pakistan will play its games in Sri Lanka.

The Asia Cup has alternated between ODI and Twenty20 white-ball formats since 2016, when India won the first of the T20 edition in Bangladesh.