Irfan Pathan names his strongest India XI for Asia Cup 2025; Picks Sanju Samson over Jitesh Sharma

Irfan Pathan has slotted Sanju Samson in the middle order.

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has revealed his strongest India playing XI for Asia Cup 2025. Notably, Pathan picked Sanju Samson over Jitesh Sharma as the wicket-keeper batter of the side. He went ahead with Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill as openers of the strongest XI.

Abhishek has cemented his place as an opener in T20Is with his aggressive batting style since his debut last year. Meanwhile, Gill has returned to India’s T20I team after a long time and has been named as vice-captain for Asia Cup 2025.

Pathan then slotted Tilak Varma at No. 3 and added captain Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4 spot. He then picked Sanju Samson as wicket-keeper of the side and slotted him in the middle-order. In the middle-order, Pathan went ahead with all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel and snubbed Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh.

In the pace department, he went ahead with Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. While Bumrah is the most crucial pacer for India across all formats, Arshdeep has cemented his spot in the team for the shortest format over the last few years.

Pathan also added spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy to his team. Notably, spinners will play a big role at spin-friendly UAE pitches during Asia Cup 2025.

Irfan Pathan’s strongest India playing XI for Asia Cup 2025

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

Meanwhile, Asia Cup 2025 will commence on September 9 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and witness a battle between eight teams for the title. India are placed in Group A with Pakistan, UAE, and Oman in their pool.

They will play their opening encounter against the UAE on September 10 in Dubai. India will enter the tournament as the defending champions, having won the last edition of the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka in the final in 2023.

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