The road to the T20 World Cup 2026 begins as Asian teams take on each other in the Asia Cup 2025, starting from September 9. Afghanistan take on Hong Kong in the opening clash of the tournament, while India open their campaign against the UAE on September 10.
One pressing debate on India's playing XI for the tournament has been whether Sanju Samson will be able to make it to the team or not after the inclusion of Shubman Gill, who has been appointed as the vice-captain. With Abhishek Sharma looking locked in to open with Gill as the potential other opener, Samson's place has been under threat.
As it seems, Samson is likely to bat out of the first two and due to the combinations, there seems to be a fight for one spot between him and Jitesh Sharma. While Samson is primarily a top-order batter, Jitesh is a finisher down the order and has shown his muscle in the Indian Premier League 2025 for the victorious Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, India captain Suryakumar Yadav was quizzed on the pressing debate in the captains' press conference ahead of the start of the tournament.
On being asked whether Samson would be able to make it to the Playing XI for the continental event, Suryakumar jokingly replied, "I shall send you the Playing XI on text." He then turned serious and added, "We are actually taking good care of Sanju, don't worry, we will make the right decision tomorrow".
However, in India's practice sessions ahead of the tournament, the picture said that Jitesh is likely to get the nod ahead of Samson. Jitesh had extended batting sessions, while Samson mostly batted towards the end of each practice session and also donned the keeping gloves for only five minutes.
India's squad for Asia Cup 2025:
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Sing
