Follow UsIndia will be playing their first game of the Asia Cup 2025 on September 10 against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, more than the result, it is about India’s playing combination that has got everybody talking. The latest to make a comment on this is former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
He chose to omit Sanju Samson as India opener and played Shubman Gill, who is making a comeback to the national T20 setup, as the opener of the side.
“I have my reasons to say that. He is also aware that there has been some talk around his batting. There can be talk, but Shubman Gil and Abhishek Sharma. Folks get scared with that opening combination,” Indian Express quoted Ashwin as saying on his YouTube channel.
“Shubman Gill knows he needs to make runs, and he will want to make runs. He is a run machine. He can make big runs at a lower strike rate,” he added.
If not at Gill’s place, could Samson play as India’s wicketkeeper in the middle-order? To this also, Ashwin’s response was no. He selected Jitesh Sharma instead to be India’s wicketkeeper-batter.
Speaking about how the batting line-up will work, Ashwin said, “Abhishek will tee off at one end. Gill could be the glue around which the team is built up. In today’s times, there is not a lot of need to become the glue in T20 cricket. But Shubman has it in him to play conventional cricket and still make a 100 off 55 balls.”
Ashwin’s Predicted India Asia Cup 2025 Playing XI
Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah