Former India batting coach picks India's strongest XI for 2025 Asia Cup; omits Arshdeep Singh

Former Team India batting coach Abhishek Nayar picked his strongest Indian XI for the upcoming 2025 Asia Cup. The 15-member squad for the tournament was announced on Tuesday, August 19 (via ESPN Cricinfo). With Shubman Gill returning to the T20I side and being appointed vice-captain, Nayar went with Gill and Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order.

Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav came in at No. 3 and 4, followed by a middle to lower middle-order of Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, and Shivam Dube. Nayar went with a spin-heavy attack, picking Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy at No. 9 and 10.

Jasprit Bumrah was the lone specialist pacer in his playing XI, with left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh being a surprising omission. Arshdeep aside, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, and Rinku Singh were the others left out of Nayar's playing XI.

The eight-team continental tournament will be played in the UAE, starting on September 9.

Abhishek Nayar's Team India playing XI for the 2025 Asia Cup

Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

Team India's 15-member squad for the 2025 Asia Cup

Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana

Aakash Chopra makes one change from Abhishek Nayar's Team India XI for the 2025 Asia Cup

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra selected a similar Team India playing XI to Abhishek Nayar for the 2025 Asia Cup with only one change. Chopra included Arshdeep Singh in place of Kuldeep Yadav in his XI, making it a more even distribution of pace and spin-bowling options.

Arshdeep is India's all-time leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 99 at an average of 18.30 and an economy of 8.29 in 63 games. He was also the joint-leading wicket-taker (17) in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which culminated with India lifting the trophy.

Meanwhile, Kuldeep has been just as impressive in T20Is, picking up 69 wickets in 40 matches at an average of 14.07 and an economy of 6.77.

Aakash Chopra's Team India playing XI for the 2025 Asia Cup

Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

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Venkatesh has been writing cricket news, listicle and feature articles for Sportskeeda for over a year. He loves cricket because of the diversity of the playing fields and its unparalleled nuances, which no other sport presents. He also enjoys the analytical and quantitative side of the sport, which originates from his MBA degree and 10 years of experience in the IT industry in companies like Infosys, Atos and TCS.

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He started watching cricket in the late 1990s, having been impressed with South Africa and New Zealand’s gentleman-like attitude. Domestically, he supports the Chennai Super Kings for their ability to bring the best out of their players owing to a friendly and conducive team environment.

He admires three cricketers the most – Brian Lara for his batting style, AB de Villiers for changing the paradigm of batting and MS Dhoni for his unique cerebral approach to field placings and batting. Along with cricket, Venkatesh also enjoys watching and playing tennis and basketball. In his free time, he finds pleasure in singing and watching movies and web series.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran