The Asia Cup 2025 will be the 17th edition of Asia's top cricket tournament. This tournament is slated to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between September 9 and 28. India have won 8 titles and will be looking to add another title to their name.
The Indian selection committee is likely to announce the squad for the coming tournament in or before the start of the fourth week of August. As seen since the T20 World Cup 2024, India have stuck with some new faces within the team. The Indian selectors will have a lot of headaches choosing players because there are plenty of options available.
The biggest fight will be for the opening slot. After a great test series in England, there is news that India might bring back Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal to the mix. A settled opening combination is important in T20Is, and here we will talk about three possible combinations that India can try for the Asia Cup 2025.
3 potential opening combinations for Team India in the Asia Cup 2025
1. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma
India have stuck with the pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. These two have done pretty well together. This pair gives the right-hand and left-hand combination, and they have gone with the aggressive approach at the top.
Samson has struck three centuries as opener, while Abhishek has played some brilliant knocks, including the second-fastest T20I century for India. These two understand each other well and are already a trusted and successful opening pair. This is expected to be the opening pair that India opt for.
2. Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal
Shubman Gill's success in tests will certainly help him throw his name into the mix. Though Gill has below-par numbers in T20Is but his success as a batter in the last few IPL seasons must help him get a chance. On the other hand, Yashasvi Jaiswal has been more consistent.
He is pretty good across formats and has proved it again and again. The left-hander will give the attacking option to the team, and these two have played enough with each other and share a good bond as a pair. Gill is very good on slow pitches, and Jaiswal also gives a good attacking option, which might be effective for India on UAE pitches.
3. Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal
If possible, India can go for the tried and tested opening pair of Samson and Jaiswal. Though these two have not played together in T20Is but they have been doing it regularly for the last five seasons at the IPL level for Rajasthan Royals. They have batted in all kinds of situations in the IPL and performed well.
This will keep the left-hand and right-hand combinations, and both are attacking in their own way. Adding to that, these two batters have immense experience playing at slow pitches, which can come in handy during the Asia Cup 2025 in the UAE.
Conclusion: An opening combination holds a lot of value while picking up the playing XI. India have been blessed with some really good opening batters at the moment, which is why the selection will be a big headache. Abhishek has the best strike rate among these, but as seen in the IPL, he has struggled with slow pitches.
Samson gives you the wicket-keeping options in the absence of Rishabh Pant. Gill hasn't delivered in T20Is so far. Jaiswal has decent numbers when it comes to the shortest format. So, the opening combination, which India might go with in the Asia Cup 2025, is likely to remain for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 as well.