With the Asia Cup 2025 drawing closer, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has shared his views on the ideal squad composition for the Men in Blue. Kaif revealed not just his playing XI, but also a 15-member squad, which included four backup options. Among the interesting inclusions was Test captain Shubman Gill, whom Kaif selected as a backup opener.
The tournament will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from September 9 to 28, with India beginning their campaign against the UAE on September 10 in Dubai.
Kaif’s Preferred Playing XI
According to Kaif, India should stick with their current opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, both of whom are in fine form. He then placed Tilak Varma at No.3, followed by T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav at No.4, and vice-captain Axar Patel at No.5.
“𝑰𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑿𝑰, 𝑨𝒃𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒌 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒋𝒖 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏. 𝑻𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒌 𝑽𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝑵𝒐.3, 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒖𝒓𝒚𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒓 𝒀𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒗 𝒂𝒕 𝑵𝒐.4 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑨𝒙𝒂𝒓 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝑵𝒐.5 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆-𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏,” 𝑲𝒂𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝑿.
He further added that Hardik Pandya (No.6) and Shivam Dube (No.7) would strengthen the middle order, with Washington Sundar at No.8. The bowling attack, in his opinion, should feature Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Backup Players in Kaif’s Squad
Kaif didn’t stop at naming the starting XI. He went on to list his four reserve players, where he included Shubman Gill as the backup opener, Jitesh Sharma as the secondary wicketkeeper, and bowlers Varun Chakravarthy and Mohammed Siraj.
“𝑰𝒇 𝑰 𝒂𝒅𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒖𝒑 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑱𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒖𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝑽𝒂𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒐𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒋,” 𝑲𝒂𝒊𝒇 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
India’s Road Ahead in the Asia Cup 2025
India will face their arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14 in Dubai, in what is expected to be one of the most anticipated clashes of the tournament. Their final group-stage match will be against Oman on September 19.
Although India is the official host, the competition will be staged entirely in the UAE across Abu Dhabi and Dubai, serving as neutral venues. A total of eight teams — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, UAE, and Oman — will fight for continental glory.
With the T20 World Cup 2026 just six months away, the Asia Cup will serve as vital preparation, being played in the T20 format. The last edition in 2023 was played in ODI format as a lead-up to the 50-over World Cup, which India won by defeating Sri Lanka in the final in Colombo.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: Shreyas Iyer Likely to Miss Out as India Stick to Same Batting Line-Up
