The Asia Cup 2025 is not far away now, and Team India are ready to defend their title. The tournament will start on September 10 when the 15-member team led by Suryakumar Yadav will face the UAE. He will be accompanied by Shubman Gill as the vice-captain, while the team also include players like Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Rinku Singh. India face the challenge of the UAE, Pakistan and Oman in Group A, and all eyes are on a strong start.
Meanwhile, former opener Virender Sehwag has named three players who can prove to be big-match winners for India this time. His first choice is young opener Abhishek Sharma. This batsman, who made his debut in July last year, has made a big impact in a very short time. He is currently at number 1 in the ICC T20I batsman rankings, and the biggest feature of his batting is that he does not hesitate to dominate the bowlers from the beginning. Sehwag believes that Abhishek can give the team an edge in every match.
After this, he took the name of Jasprit Bumrah. Questions have been raised about his fitness for a long time, and recently, his absence from the Champions Trophy became a part of the discussion. Still, his bowling is the biggest problem for any team. In IPL 2025, he took 18 wickets in 12 matches, and his economy rate was 6.67. This is the reason why a lot of expectations are attached to him in this big tournament.
The third name he took was Varun Chakravarthy, whom Sehwag described as the X-factor of the team. Varun has been bowling brilliantly in the last few months. He showed strength in the series against Bangladesh and became the Player of the Series in the five-match T20I series against England. In the last 18 T20I matches, he has taken 33 wickets, and his economy has been around seven. His mystery spin can trouble any batsman.
This time, India have a balanced combination of experience and youthful energy. Sehwag believes that Abhishek Sharma's aggression, Jasprit Bumrah's accurate bowling and Varun Chakravarthy's mysterious spin can make the team champion again in the Asia Cup.
“I think Abhishek Sharma can be a game-changer. Varun Chakravarthy, with his mystery bowling, was very effective in the Champions Trophy and in the T20 format as well. So, these are some game-changers for India who can win matches on their own."
