Asia Cup 2025: Best playing XI for India

The Asia Cup 2025 schedule has been revealed recently, as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host this tournament between September 9 and 28. It will be a T20I tournament, where eight Asian teams will participate. Eight-time Asia Cup champions (including one T20 Asia Cup title) India will be one of the favourites for this tournament. 

In the group stage, India will face UAE and Oman, along with the arch-rivals Pakistan. Meanwhile, in the Super Four, they can face teams like Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, etc. While it is going to be an exciting and challenging tournament for India, here we are looking at the best possible playing XI for India for the Asia Cup 2025. 

See Also: Why is the Asia Cup needed for Pakistan Cricket to survive?

Best playing XI for India for Asia Cup 2025

Yashasvi Jaiswal: It will be interesting to see if the Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is considered for the Asia Cup 2025 after a long English tour, where the left-handed opening batter has played an important part in the five-match Test series. Although he hasn't played a T20I since last July, the 23-year-old will surely be interested in the tournament to put up a strong fight for the T20 World Cup 2026 selection.  

Tilak Varma: Indian opener Tilak Varma slammed two centuries during the T20I series against the hosts South Africa last year. After winning the Player of the Series award in the South Africa tour's T20I format, he also finished as the third leading run-scorer in the home T20I series against England. He is becoming a powerful T20I opener for India.

Abhishek Sharma: During the home T20I series against England, Abhishek Sharma impressed with his powerful batting performances, as he scored 279 runs in five innings in that series with one century and one half-century while maintaining a strike rate of 219.68, which made him the Player of the Series. 

Sanju Samson (wk): Despite having a record of three T20I centuries, Sanju Samson is under pressure due to his inconsistent performances with the bat. As Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Jitesh Sharma, Dhruv Jurel, etc. are in a strong battle for the Indian T20I wicketkeeping role, the Asia Cup 2025 will be a good chance for Samson to prove his spot. 

Suryakumar Yadav (Captain): While Suryakumar Yadav-led India have produced strong results in recent T20I cricket, his batting as a captain isn't powerful at all. However, his incredibly consistent batting form in the IPL 2025 brought out his popular dangerous batter image. With 717 runs, Yadav was the second most run-scorer in the IPL 2025. So, we can expect old SKY in the upcoming Asia Cup tournament. 

Rinku Singh: Rinku Singh brings the fire to the Indian middle-order batting, who has a batting average and strike-rate of 42.00 and 161.06, respectively, in T20I cricket. Although he wasn't consistent enough in the IPL 2025 for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), one-season struggle hasn't brought any big doubt on his powerful batting skills. 

Hardik Pandya: Experienced all-rounder Hardik Pandya provides a strong balance in middle-order batting and pace-bowling in Indian cricket. His slog-over bowling has proved powerful for the Men in Blues, as he was a key member of India's title success in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024. 

Axar Patel: Just like Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel also brings useful all-round depth to the Indian team. His left-handed batting and left-arm spin are both important for the Men in Blues, as he was an important character for India during their win the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024. 

Arshdeep Singh: The left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh is the leading T20I wicket-taker for India and is just a wicket away from completing his 100 T20I wickets. In the powerplay and slog overs, his swing bowling skill and perfect yorkers are the biggest strengths in the Indian pace-bowling line-up. 

Harshit Rana: The 23-year-old Indian fast bowler Harshit Rana is growing strongly. Although he has played only one T20I, as he made his T20I debut during the last home T20I series against England and picked up three wickets, he still can play as a main pacer for the Men in Blues in the Asia Cup 2025. However, he may have to face strong challenges with Prasidh Krishna, Ravi Bishnoi, etc.

Varun Chakravarthy: Since the end of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, the leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy is the leading wicket-taker in T20I cricket among the ICC Full Members, as he has taken 31 wickets in only 12 T20Is, including two fifers.