Ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, former cricketer Madan Lal has picked his Team India`s opening pair for the marquee event.
He named Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma as India`s opening duo, saying that opening is very important and the openers set the tone of the game.
“I`m satisfied because it should have been done. Abhishek Sharma`s strike rate is more than 225, and Shubman Gill`s strike rate is more than 150. Opening is very important in T20Is. In the first six overs, the openers set the game. Then, after that, you have to ensure that your average is around 7, 8, or 9 and continue until the 14th or 16th over,” said Lal.
He then stated that hard-hitters such as Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel can do the remaining job for the side in the final overs of the game.
“In the last three to four overs, you have a big hitter like Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel,” he added. Madan Lal was a part of Team India that won the World Cup in 1983.
The Asia Cup 2025 is all set to kick off on September 9, with the first game set to be played between Afghanistan and Hong Kong.
In the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup, India is placed in Group A alongside the UAE, Pakistan and Oman. The Men in Blue will open their campaign with a clash against the UAE on September 10.
The mega clash of the marquee event, between India and Pakistan, is scheduled to be played on September 14. India will then conclude their group stage matches by playing a game against Oman on September 19. On the other hand, the “Green Shirts” will begin their campaign against Oman on September 12.
In case both teams manage to qualify for the `Super 4` stage of the continental event, they are likely to clash again in the tournament.
India`s squad for the Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, and Rinku Singh.
(With ANI Inputs)