In the aftermath of last year’s T20 World Cup triumph, three of the biggest names in Indian cricket announced their retirement from the game’s shortest format.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja each stepped away from T20Is following India’s seven-run win over South Africa in Bridgetown, a victory that ended 17 years of frustration for the cricket powerhouse.
Replacing the trio would be no easy feat – Sharma is the leading run-scorer in the format’s history, while Jadeja was the sport’s greatest multi-format all-rounder since Jacques Kallis. Kohli’s reputation speaks for itself.
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Alarm bells sounded when India lost its first T20 following last year’s marquee tournament, with an undermanned team suffering a 13-run defeat against Zimbabwe. It was India’s first loss to the African nation in eight years.
However, India has won 17 of its 19 T20Is since the Harare wake-up call, sealing top spot on the ICC rankings. Recently, Suryakumar Yadav’s men secured a 3-1 series win over the Proteas in South Africa and a 4-1 triumph over England on home soil.
But India is about to embark on its first major T20 tournament since the loss of Sharma, Kohli and Jadeja – the Asia Cup, the first opportunity for the country’s next generation of cricket stars to step into the spotlight.
“There’s no Kohli, there’s no Rohit Sharma, there’s no Jadeja,” former Australian bowler Brett Lee told Fox Sports’ The Follow-On Podcast.
“We’d love these heroes of the game to play as long as possible, but it’s not the case.
“What it does do is open up a lot of different doors for these young players coming through. This is their time to shine now.
“It’s a new-look India, with a few more people on the bus sitting in a few different spots.
“The squad hasn’t changed a lot, but there will be a lot of younger guys in different positions that will have an opportunity to stand up.”
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Photo by Philip Brown/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
India has announced a 15-player squad for the eight-team tournament, headlined by superstar quick Jasprit Bumrah. However, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant is missing as he continues to recover from a fractured ankle sustained during the fourth Test against England in Manchester.
Test captain Shubman Gill, who had not been picked for the national T20 side since July last year, has earned a recall off the back of his stellar Indian Premier League campaign with the Gujarat Titans, averaging 50.00 with a strike rate of 155.87.
Abhishek Sharma is expected to open alongside Gill in the Asia Cup, with the Sunrisers Hyderabad star proving a more than worthy replacement for Rohit. Since making his T20I debut in July last year, the 25-year-old has averaged 33.43 with a blistering strike rate of 193.84, hitting centuries against England and Zimbabwe.
However, Gill’s return could push Sanju Samson down the order – or out of the starting XI altogether.
Samson has been India’s second-leading run-scorer in T20Is since July last year with 487 runs at 34.78, including three hundreds as an opener, forming a damaging partnership alongside Sharma.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar admitted picking India’s opening partnership for the Asia Cup had created a “headache”, but declared the decision would be put down to captain Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir.
“Abhishek’s performances make it hard to leave him out, plus his bowling is handy,” Agarkar said.
“It’s their headache to pick the batting line-up. Our job was to pick the 15. We’ve got some real depth as far as T20 cricket is concerned, and we are very happy about it.”
Elsewhere, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar argued that Samson shouldn’t be left out of the starting XI, suggesting he could be reinvented as a finisher down the order.
“Somebody like a Sanju, who can maybe even bat at three and if needed, could come down at six as a finisher,” Gavaskar told the Sony Sports Network.
“Jitesh has also done well in the recently concluded IPL. My feeling is that maybe Samson will probably get the nod ahead of Jitesh for at least the first couple of games. And then depending on what his form is for the rest of the tournament.
“If you take somebody like a Samson in the fifteen, then you can’t leave him out in the reserve.”
Samson is also a capable wicketkeeper, but in Pant’s absence, that role is expected to be occupied by Jitesh Sharma. The 31-year-old has not played a T20I since January last year, but he put himself back in the national conversation by averaging 37.28 with a strike rate of 176.35 during this season’s IPL.
Sanju Samson of India. Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
Batting at No. 3 for India, a position Kohli occupied for more than a decade, will most likely be Tilak Varma, who has also enjoyed an impressive start to his T20I career with 413 runs at 82.60 and a strike rate of 170.66. The 22-year-old made global headlines in November last year after clobbering consecutive hundreds against South Africa.
However, the selection of Sharma and Varma comes at the expense of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer, with the duo’s surprise omission raising eyebrows.
“I was a little disappointed not to see these two names,” former India spinner Maninder Singh told PTI.
“Jaiswal, I think, is ready for any format and he should be there in any team.
“As far as Iyer is concerned, I really don’t know why he keeps getting left out of the Indian side because he’s such a fantastic player and such a positive player and contributes to the team.”
Elsewhere, India already boasts a capable replacement for Jadeja in fellow all-rounder Axar Patel, who has 71 T20Is under his belt. The left-armed tweaker will balance India’s starting XI as a fifth bowling option and lower-order slugger.
India are the Asia Cup reigning champions having won the previous edition in 2023, albeit a 50-over tournament. Lifting the trophy again would be a timely shot in the arm ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup at home.
Additional reporting from Courtney Walsh
India’s Asia Cup Squad
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
India’s Asia Cup Fixtures
All times local
September 10 vs UAE, 7.3pm in Dubai
September 14 vs Pakistan, 7.30pm in Dubai
September 19 vs Oman, 7:30pm in Abu Dhabi