Irfan Pathan reveals India’s playing XI for Asia Cup 2025; Sanju Samson not to open

Former Indian all-rounder and commentator Irfan Pathan has revealed his strongest Indian playing XI for the forthcoming Asia Cup 2025 campaign, which is scheduled to start on Tuesday, September 9, in the United Arab Emirates.

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Speaking on his YouTube channel, Pathan has picked Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma as the new opening pair, with Tilak Varma and SKY taking up No.3 and No.4 positions. Sanju Samson is expected to take up the keeper-batter role at No.5.

Moreover, Pathan also heaped praise on Shubman Gill, the new vice-captain of the Indian T20I side, referring to him as the new Virat Kohli of the side in the shortest format of the game. He later picked Hardik, Axar, one between Shivam Dube and Kuldeep Yadav. Later, he went ahead with Bumrah, Arshdeep and Varun.

"Shubman Gill can do the work the great Virat Kohli has done for many years. Virat Kohli has played cricket in his own style. He tried to play long innings and found his own way in T20 cricket. If you compare six-hitters, he is not Chris Gayle; he is Virat Kohli, but if you look at value, he had a lot of value in T20s. I see Shubman Gill as a player of the mold," Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

Team India will initiate their campaign against the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, September 10. Later, they will face off against the arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, September 14. Their last group stage will be against Oman on Friday, September 19.

Irfan Pathan’s strongest playing XI for Asia Cup 2025: Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube/Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.

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 Sing.

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Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel.

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