The Asia Cup 2025 is going to start from September 9, and in this tournament, the Indian Cricket team will be captained by Suryakumar Yadav. His eyes will be on the title as this tournament will prove to be an important preparation before the T20 World Cup next year. However, in the meantime, the team's focus will not be limited to the white ball as the India vs West Indies Test series will also be held after the Asia Cup. In such a situation, the players will have to be ready according to the demands of both formats.
In fact, if India reaches the final, then there will be a gap of only four days between the conclusion of the Asia Cup and the first Test against WI. This is the reason why players like Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav will also practice with the red ball during the Asia Cup itself. All of them were recently part of the England tour and have recent red-ball experience. Now the team management wants them to once again return to the mindset of long innings and long spells.
Balance between two formats:
Constantly switching between white and red balls has now become the normal process of cricket for multi-format players. Shubman Gill and the rest of the players had also struck a similar balance during IPL 2025 when they were seen practising with the red ball in preparation for the England series. The only difference is that they were doing it during a domestic T20 league, and now this experiment has to be done in the midst of a multinational competition like the Asia Cup. Still, this is what the schedule demands and the players cannot back out of it.
The two-Test series of India vs West Indies will start from October 2, the matches of which will be played in Ahmedabad and Delhi. This series is part of the World Test Championship cycle, and hence, its importance increases further.
This juggling will not be easy for the players, but this situation will make their game stronger. If the team manages to maintain the right balance in both formats, not only will they win the Asia Cup title, but their chances of winning the Test series against West Indies will also become stronger.
