Sanju Samson or Jitesh Sharma? Predicting India’s Starting XI for Asia Cup 2025

India's biggest test in the 2025 Asia Cup group stage will be its September 14 clash against arch-rival Pakistan, despite persistant backlash.

Sanju Samson or Jitesh Sharma? Predicting India’s Starting XI for Asia Cup 2025

It remains to be seen whether Sanju Samson or Jitesh Sharma is picked in India's playing XI for the Asia Cup. (via News 18)

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Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir faces a massive selection dilemma, ahead of the 2025 Asia Cup. It will be interesting to see the playing XI that he picks, with a major conundrum surrounding the choice for the wicket-keeping position, between Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma. 

The Men in Blue will begin its 2025 Asia Cup campaign on a confident note, having come off a brilliant showing in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, against England. India will be looking to defend its Asia Cup title, with it also being the first time since 2008 that the team will be playing without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. India has been placed in Group A alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, hosts UAE, and Oman.

The 15-member Indian T20I squad was only announced last week. Led by the captain Suryakumar Yadav, the team sees several key players returning, including Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah, both of whom have not played a T20I in over a year now. Gill has also been named vice-captain, replacing Axar Patel. However, the selectors faced a flak, for not including in-form Shreyas Iyer, in the 15-member squad. 

It would be a daunting task for head coach Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav to finalize a playing XI, with all players competing for a spot. The biggest question arises over who would open the innings, whether the team sticks with the successful pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, or partners Sharma with Test captain Shubman Gill, who had an impeccable IPL season, finishing the fourth highest run-getter with 650 runs at an average of 50.

It would be difficult to overlook Samson, but the absence of a hard-hitting lower-order finisher might force the team to go with Jitesh Sharma as the wicket-keeping option and Gill as the opener, leaving the 30-year-old out on the bench.

Following Abhishek-Gill as opener, Tilak Verma is expected to come out to bat at no. 3, followed by skipper Suryakumar Yadav at no. 4. With Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube both having endured an average 2025 IPL campaign, it could leave the no. 5 spot up for grabs.

The no. 5 spot might go to star all-rounder Hardik Pandya, followed by keeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, who had an impressive season with RCB in their 2025 IPL-winning campaign, at no. 6, and Axar Patel at no. 7 to complete the batting order. If conditions favor spina, both Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav could be included in the playing XI, alongside the two pacers, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah.

India Asia Cup Predicted Playing XIBench
Abhishek SharmaSanju Samson
Shubman GillRinku Singh
Tilak VarmaShivam Dube
Suryakumar Yadav (C)Harshit Rana
Hardik Pandya
Jitesh Sharma
Axar Patel
Varun Chakravarthy
Jasprit Bumrah
Arshdeep Singh
Kuldeep Yadav

Therefore, it leaves out four players on the bench, Samson, Rinku, Dube and 23-year-old pacer Harshit Rana, all of whom do have the ability to make it into the playing XI. Five other players have been named as reserves, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar and Prasidh Krishna. 

Afghanistan and Bangladesh Announce Squads for 2025 Asia Cup, Tough Challenge Awaits Both Teams

Bangladesh and Afghanistan became the 4th and 5th teams to announce their squads, for the upcoming 2025 Asia Cup in the UAE, starting September 9. Bangladesh has named a 16-member squad captained by Litton Das, while Afghanistan’s 17-member team will be led by Rashid Khan. 

Asia Cup Bangladesh Afghanistan
Afghanistan and Bangldesh announced their squads for the 2025 Asia Cup. (via ESPN Cricinfo)

Bangladesh, who last made it to the final of the Asia Cup back in 2018, has named a squad whichfeatures big names like Tanzid Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman. 31-year-old Nurul Hasan also returns to the side, after having spent more than a year-and-a-half out, while former captain Najmul Shanto and all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz have been left out. 

Meanwhile, Afghanistan has named a full-strength squad, hoping to cause a major upset at the Asia Cup. Led by talismanic spinner Rashid Khan, the team features big names like Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, and others.

Apart from Afghanistan and Bangladesh, four other teams have already named their squads for the upcoming Asia Cup, including defending champions India, Pakistan, Oman and Hong Kong. Only Sri Lanka and hosts UAE are yet to name their squads for the coveted tournament, with announcements expected soon.

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