The Asia Cup final is scheduled on September 28. The first Test between India and the West Indies commences from October 2. The turnaround time is just three days. So while picking the squad for the Asia Cup, the selectors will have to keep an eye on the upcoming home Test series as well.
The Asia Cup this time would be played in a T20 format. On the face of it, the Indian team selection on August 19 should be an open-and-shut case. Over the past 12 months, India have won 13 T20Is out of 15 under head coach Gautam Gambhir. The squad doesn't require tinkering beyond subtle changes.
A few alterations would be made for sure. Jasprit Bumrah hasn't played in the shortest format since the T20 World Cup last year. But he has reportedly made himself available for the Asia Cup, and Ajit Agarkar and Co would certainly be very tempted to include him in the squad.
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“Bumrah has informed the selectors that he will be available for the Asia Cup selection. The selection committee will meet and discuss it when they meet next week,” a source was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. But there's a catch.
Bumrah is the bowling royalty but his workload/injury management has been a major factor of late. It saw him turn up for only three Tests in the five-match series against England. If Bumrah goes to the Asia Cup, will he be available for the first Test against the West Indies? The Asia Cup is not an elite limited-overs tournament, but Pakistan’s presence gives it a geopolitical angle. It's very likely that Bumrah would be part of the Indian touring party to the UAE.
Shubham Gill is another interesting case. He was a travelling reserve at the 2024 T20 World Cup, but immediately after the tournament, Gill was appointed captain of a second-string Indian side for the T20I series in Zimbabwe. Gill is now India’s Test skipper and probably the captain-designate of the ODI team. He has always been in the scheme of T20I things, notwithstanding that he didn't feature in the last three assignments — against Bangladesh, South Africa and England — of that variety. The focus was on Tests during that period, as white-ball cricket took a back seat.
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With the T20 World Cup just six months away, the selectors are expected to pick a full-strength squad for the Asia Cup. And Gill at No. 3 could be a real possibility. If it happens, Tilak Verma will have every reason to feel hard done by. But Gill is the new poster boy of Indian cricket.
What about Yashasvi Jaiswal and his T20 World Cup aspirations? In any other team, he would walk in. But given Indian cricket’s embarrassment of riches, the southpaw might have to be on stand-by. Accommodating the all four of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Gill and Jaiswal in a 15-member squad is an unenviable job.
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