Tuesday, August 19 is set to be a huge day for the Indian Cricket Men's & and Women's teams. First up, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to announce the squad for the Asia Cup, starting on September 09 to 28. The selection panel led by Ajit Agarkar will meet in the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai to pick the squad that will probably be their toughest headache till date, as they are spoilt for choices. Later, the BCCI is also set to announce the squad for the Women's World Cup 2025. The showpiece event begins on September 30.
While the Women's squad announcement will comparatively hold less mystery element, the Asia Cup squad announcement will carry a lot of intrigue and excitement, as the nation wants to know whether Shubman Gill will be picked? Will Mohammed Siraj be selected? Will Jasprit Bumrah lead the pace attack? All these questions will be answered by evening today. Apart from the selection panel playing the key role, head coach Gautam Gambhir will also play a crucial role in selecting the 15-member squad for the Continental Cup.
For starters, T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav is a no-brainier pick, while his deputy Axar Patel will also be selected. The batting order is the trickiest part for selectors, as they are spoiled for choice. Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson & Abhishek Sharma are the four openers vying for just two slots up the order. Among these four, Samson & Abhishek have been opening in T20Is for over a year. Both have cemented their place, and complement each other well.
Also Read: Sourav Ganguly's blunt condition for Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma to play ODI World Cup 2027
However, here is another angle, with Gill & Jaiswal showing good form in the England Test series, and the preceding IPL 2025 season, the selectors might give the duo a go, considering the T20 World Cup 2026 is just seven months away. Whether the selectors think in those lines and include the duo remains to be seen. Now, coming to middle-order slots, Suryakumar, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, & Shivam Dube are set to be picked. However, Shreyas Iyer & Jitesh Sharma are also potential candidates to be picked. Both these players showed good form in the IPL 2025 season.
While Shreyas was a solid middle-order batter for PBKS, Jitesh played the finishing role well for RCB. Also, he is a keeper-batter, and a cover for Samson (If the selector picks the RR captain as the first choice wicketkeeper-batter).
Who will be the bowlers for Asia Cup?
Jasprit Bumrah is all set to lead the pace attack, with Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, & Harshit Rana set to be the pace options, the other being Pandya. The spin attack will likely boast of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, & Ravi Bishnoi in contention to be named. Siraj, despite his gun showing in the England Test series (23 wickets in five Tests), the pacer might not be picked.
Also Read: “If The Doctor Tells...” - Former India Chief Selector Ends Debate On Jasprit Bumrah’s Workload
Harmanpreet Kaur to lead India in WWC 2025
Speaking about WWC 2025, Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the side, which sees vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, & Richa Ghosh (keeper-batter) are set to be no-brainier picks. In the bowling, Renuka Thakur, & Radha Yadav are set to be named. While nine out of the potential 15-member squad are fix, the rest six players can be picked based on their X-factor abilities and form.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: India’s Predicted Squad - Who Are The Likely Contenders
