Hardik Pandya for India in Asia Cup 2025 (Source: AFP)
India are all set to take on Pakistan for the first time in the Asia Cup final, and the anticipation, as expected, around the match is quite high. Suryakumar Yadav and his boys have dominated Pakistan so far in this Asia Cup with two comprehensive wins and would be looking to do the same in the final too.
However, in the finale, India are in danger of missing the services of Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder walked off the field after bowling just one over in the previous match against Sri Lanka, and there is still doubt over his participation in the final. Thus, if he fails to make it to the finale, it would be a huge loss for India, and they would have to tackle a few issues against Pakistan.
India will be forced to play two pacers
India have been generally going with only one frontline seamer, Jasprit Bumrah in this Asia Cup. So, Hardik Pandya has played an important role as the second seamer, while Shivam Dube has chipped in as the third pacer. As a result, Hardik has bowled both in the Powerplay and at the death, and if he is not present, India cannot afford to go with only a frontline pacer.
They would then need a pure pacer to compensate for his loss as India would need someone to bowl both in the Powerplay and the death. Thus, India would have to play Arshdeep Singh and would have to deviate from their strategy of packing the team with all-rounders and just one frontline seamer in the all-important grand finale.
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Batting depth will take a hit
If Hardik Pandya is absent, India would have to play an extra seamer as mentioned earlier. Thus, India would not get that extra batting cushion of an all-rounder, and a bowler would have to bat at number eight compared to the earlier strategy of batting right till the end. So far in the tournament, India had the cushion of using Axar Patel at eight, but if Hardik is not available, the lowest he can bat is seven, and they would have to use Arshdeep or any other bowler at number eight.
Thus, the Indian top order and middle order might have to bat a bit cautiously compared to other games, and it could affect their performance in the final. Also, India have been heavily dependent on Abhishek Sharma and the likes of Gill and Suryakumar Yadav have not been able to live upto the billing. There is a difference of 165 runs between Abhishek Sharma and India's second leading run-scorer of the tournament, Tilak Varma. Abhishek has scored 34.95 percentage of total runs notched up by Indian batters in the tournament which shows the impact he has created.
Shivam Dube and Axar Patel, on the other hand, have not faced lot of balls in the tournament and thus absence of Hardik Pandya would create an added pressure on the batting group.
Hardik's Big Match-Credentials will be missed
Hardik Pandya is known for his big-match credentials and has done exceptionally well in the knockout games or finals of the multi-nation tournament. When India last played a final against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2017, it was Hardik Pandya who fought a lone battle with his fifty, while he also delivered a match-winning bowling performance in the T20 World Cup 2024 final.
| Event | Performance |
| 2017 Champions Trophy Final | 1/53, 76 (43) |
| 2022 IND vs PAK | 3/25, 33* (17) |
| 2022 T20 WC Semfinal | 63 (33) |
| 2024 T20 WC Final | 3/20 |
Against Pakistan, too, Hardik Pandya has delivered some clutch performances under pressure in the past, and India would miss his skills in the big final. He is known to be extremely cool under pressure in tense run-chases or while bowling final overs, and thus, not having him will be a big dent in India's balance for the final.
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