With the top four teams confirmed for Asia Cup 2025 Super Four stage, defending champions, Team India will next lock horns with Oman in their final Group A fixture on Friday, September 19 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. While the Men in Blue will be coming high on confidence after register two successive wins in their first few games in the tournament.
While they will look to continue their domination in the continental event, several cricketer experts have opined that star Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah should be rested for the upcoming clash. Former India cricketer and legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that Bumrah should be rested for game against Oman, seeing India play Pakistan next in the Super 4s.
Suryakumar could drop, giving Tilak and Sanju a chance: Sunil Gavaskar
Speaking to the broadcaster prior
to the India versus Oman game, Gavaskar shared a few pieces of advice. While he is of the opinion that Bumrah should be rested, he also added that the Indian skipper should drop himself down, giving some gametime to Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson. “I would like to think that India would consider batting first and keep the same opening pair. Maybe number three, Suryakumar Yadav, the skipper, could drop himself down the order, giving Tilak Verma a chance for some time at the crease and allowing Sanju Samson a bit of a hit as well," Gavaskar said.
“This would give the batters some practice not just for the game against Pakistan, but also for the upcoming Super 4 matches against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It’s more about preparing the batters than the bowlers," he added. “I believe Jasprit Bumrah should be rested, perhaps even for the Pakistan game, so he’s available for the bigger match on Sunday, the 28th, which is against Sri Lanka. That’s what India should be looking at,” Gavaskar added.
It is to be noted that Bumrah returned to the T20I setup after last featuring in the T20 World Cup 2024 in USA and West Indies. In the opening game against UAE, Bumrah picked up one wicket in his three overs, whereas in the high-octane clash vs Pakistan, he picked up two for 28 and now sits in fourth place among the highest wicket-takers in T20Is.
India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025:
Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel
