The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has already announced the Team India Asia Cup 2025 squad. Looking at the India squad for the Asia Cup 2025, we can see that the team is full of young and fearless players, with a few experienced match-winners also present in the team. The Indian Cricket Team are the current champion of the Asia Cup, last won in 2023 in an ODI format. This time, the tournament will be played in T20 format as some of the top-most Asian sides will look to prepare for the all-important ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Today, we will do a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of the Team India squad for the Asia Cup 2025. We will also see the expected playing XI of Team India in the Asia Cup 2025. So without wasting any time, let’s begin.
Team India Asia Cup 2025 Squad
Team India Asia Cup 2025 squad is a mix of youngsters and experienced campaigners. A 15-member squad has almost covered all the bases, and the Suryakumar Yadav-led side will look to defend the title as it will give them a much-needed confidence before going into the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Shubman Gill will be Surya’s deputy and will most likely open the innings with Abhishek Sharma. The selectors have ignored Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer, and facing a little bit of criticism on social media as well. But, all-and-all, the team looks strong on paper, and good to go for the title defence.
Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.
SWOT Analysis of Team India Asia Cup 2025 Squad
Strengths
Fearless Batting Line-up
Team India has a strong batting line-up, full of fearless batters. Abhishek Sharma has proved himself at the highest level and utilises the powerplay to a good effect. Captain Suryakumar Yadav is someone who goes after the opposition bowlers right from ball one. Tilak Varma has done exceptionally well, and the team has hard-hitters like Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, and Shivam Dube in the squad.
Wicket-taking Bowlers
Team India has genuine wicket-takers who do not fear to go for wickets, no matter if they go for runs at the cost of a wicket. Jasprit Bumrah is a lethal weapon in any situation, whether it is with the new ball, in the middle overs, or in death overs. The same goes with Arshdeep Singh. Also, the team has two wrist-spinners, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, who can control the flow of the game in the middle overs. To support the bowlers, they have Hardik and Axar to bowl a few overs.
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Weaknesses
Not Much Options in Fast Bowling
There are no major weaknesses in this India Asia Cup 2025 squad as they have covered almost all the bases. A slight weakness, you can say, is not having many options in pace bowling. Apart from Bumrah and Arshdeep, the team only has the option of Harshit Rana. Rana has not done outstandingly well at the international level yet.
Team Combination
Team India always looks for a bowler who can bat as well at No. 8. In that case, they have to compromise playing a proper out-and-out wicket-taking bowler. Bumrah, Arshdeep, and Chakravarthy are the likely starters. Axar and Hardik are the two all-rounders who can start as well. In that case, if Team India goes with Rana at the expense of Kuldeep, a genuine wicket-taker will be compromised. They will have to figure out the team combination as soon as possible.
Opportunities
To Gain Confidence Before the T20 WC 2026
If Team India manages to win the Asia Cup 2025, it will give them a world of confidence going into the marquee tournament like the T20 WC 2026. They can also decide the team combination for the T20 WC, and test their players’ form in a multi-nation tournament.
Opportunity for the Youngsters to Permanent Their Place
It will be an opportunity for youngsters like Rinku Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, etc to make a permanent spot in the playing XI for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. If they perform well in the Asia Cup 2025, the selectors can’t ignore them from adding to the WC squad. Runs under the belt are always crucial before any big tournament.
Threat
Lack of Match Practice Before the Tournament
There are quite a few players like Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, etc, who have not played any international cricket in the last few months. In fact, these players last played professional T20 cricket in the IPL 2025, which was also about three months ago. There might be some kind of rustiness in the players, which does not help in the team’s cause.
The Conditions Might Help the Opposition Spinners As Well
The Asia Cup 2025 is set to happen in the UAE (United Arab Emirates), where sometimes the conditions are favourable for the spinners. India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad consists of some quality spinners, but there are other teams also, like Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, whose spinners can exploit the conditions to their advantage. We have seen the struggle of Indian batters against the quality spinners over the years. Remember the last ODI series against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka last year (2024), where the spinners troubled the Indian batters and won the series for SL.
See the full schedule of the Asia Cup 2025 HERE
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Expected Playing XI of Team India in the Asia Cup 2025
Abhishek has shown his ability at the top order, and Shubman, with the vice-captaincy on his shoulders, is a likely opener. Tilak Varma has done well in South Africa at No. 3, and Surya is well-equipped in the top 4. Hardik Pandya is an experienced finisher, and Axar can handle the spin bowling all-rounder role.
The only position for Team India to fill is the wicketkeeper. They have an option of Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson in the squad. Before the team announcement, the fans and experts were expecting the opening pair of Abhishek and Sanju, with the latter also doing the wicketkeeping duties. After the team announcement, when Shubman’s name came, the thoughts were that he and Abhisek would open, and Jitnesh would keep wickets. But Sanu Samson has been playing at No. 4-5 in Kerala’s local T20 tournament, and doing well. Sanju is giving a statement that he can also bat in the middle order.
In this situation, Sanju’s experience and past performance overshadow Jitesh’s chances. The team might go with Sanju as the wicketkeeping option and a middle-order batter.
In the bowling front, as we said earlier, Bumrah, Arshdeep, and Varun are the likely starters. The only problem is if they want to play Kuldeep as a wicket-taking wrist-spinning option, or Harshit Rana, a pacer with some batting skills. Ideally, India should go with Kuldeep, considering the nature of the UAE pitches. Also, it is more of an attacking option rather than a safety-first approach. But looking at Team India’s approach, they might go with Harshit as a bowling all-rounder who can bat a bit as well.
Probable XI –
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vc), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Varun Chakravarthy.
NOTE: Another combination Team India can explore is opening with Abhishek and Sanju, and Gill will bat at No. 3. Or the team can go with Gill and Abhishek as openers, Sanju at No. 3, with Tilak batting at No. 5.
CONCLUSION: Will Team India Defend Their Asia Cup Title?
Team India are far more stronger than any other opposition in Asia, at least on paper. Even if India plays at their 70-80% potential in the tournament, they would be able to defend their Asia Cup title. They are not just one of the best teams in Asia at the moment, but one of the best in the world. Their real threat would be in the ICC T20 WC 2026 against teams like Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand.
What are your predictions for the Asia Cup 2025? Who will win the title this time around? Comment your prediction below. Thank you for reading. Keep following us for the latest updates.
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FAQs:-
(1) When does the Asia Cup 2025 start?
A. The Asia Cup 2025 will begin on September 09, 2025, with Afghanistan and Hong Kong locking horns in Abu Dhabi.
(2) How many Asia Cup titles has Team India won till now?
A. As of August 30, 2025, Team India has won eight Asia Cup titles.
(3) How many Asia Cup titles (T20 format) has Team India won till now?
A. As of today, Team India has won one Asia Cup title in the T20 format in 2016.
(4) What are the fixtures of Team India in the Asia Cup 2025 first stage?
A. Team India will play against UAE, Pakistan, and Oman on September 10, 14, and 19, respectively, in the first stage of the tournament. Dubai will host the first two fixtures, while Abu Dhabi will host the third one.
(5) Who is the host of the Asia Cup 2025?
A. Team India are the host of the Asia Cup. But due to political tensions between India and Pakistan, the tournament will be held in the UAE.
