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Samson Or Jitesh, Gill-Abhishek To Open? Irfan Pathan Reveals His Playing XI For Asia Cup

Aashay Chopade

Sanju Samson, Jitesh Sharma and Shubman Gill (Source:@cricbuzz and @SR_Shriram_58/X.com)Sanju Samson, Jitesh Sharma and Shubman Gill (Source:@cricbuzz and @SR_Shriram_58/X.com)

The Asia Cup 2025 is all set to kickstart from September 9, and India will play its first match on the second day against the UAE. Since the time the team has been announced, there has been a lot of chatter around India's playing XI for the tournament, with many people coming out with different combinations.

Irfan Pathan Replaces Sanju Samson With Shubman Gill As Opener

Now, Irfan Pathan has also shared his strongest XI for the Asia Cup 2025 in a video released on his official YouTube channel. Irfan Pathan first addressed the debate around the opening combination and selected Abhishek Sharma to partner with Shubman Gill. He applauded Abhishek's power-hitting skills and match-winning abilities while he hoped that vice-captain Shubman Gill would perform the role of a stabiliser like Virat Kohli used to do.

Thus, Irfan Pathan did not select Sanju Samson as an opener despite the Kerala batter doing well in the last year or so. The former Indian pacer, though, kept Tilak Varma at three because of his exploits at the international level and added that captain Suryakumar Yadav can bat at four.

At number five, Irfan decided to go with Sanju Samson or Jitesh Sharma. The cricketer mentioned that Samson is a good player of spin, and one should reward him after his performances for India in the previous few series. He put all-rounders, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel, at number six and seven and added that India could go with Shivam Dube at eight, if they want an extra batter. 

Irfan Pathan Suggests Options According To Conditions

However, he final call was to keep Kuldeep Yadav at number eight. He, however, stated that it could be a toss-up between Kuldeep and Shivam Dube according to conditions. He selected Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh as two premier pacers, while Varun Chakaravarthy has also made his way into Irfan's playing XI after dominating performances in the last year or so.

Thus, according to Irfan Pathan, India should prefer Sanju Samson as their wicketkeeper over Jitesh Sharma. However, he has suggested a middle-order position for the RR captain, a place where he has not been successful in T20 cricket. There are two pure spinners and pacers in the XI, while Hardik, Axar and Abhishek provide the all-round options.

Irfan Pathan's Playing XI Of India For Asia Cup 2025

Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy