Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy to play together in the Asia Cup. The UAE pitches had assisted the spinners in the Champions Trophy, but the tracks are expected to be fresher.
Yadav had not got a single game on the England tour but bowled 32 overs in the Duleep Trophy. On the other hand, Chakravarthy is going to be India’s first-choice spinner in T20Is as he has performed consistently.
The mystery spinner had scalped 17 wickets in 13 IPL 2025 matches for KKR, whereas Yadav took 15 scalps in 14 games of the tournament for DC. With Axar Patel expected to play as a genuine all-rounder, it would be interesting to note if India could accommodate both Yadav and Chakravarthy in the final XI.
Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “I feel sometimes we could see someone like Bumrah getting rested, some of the others could also get rested. There could be rotation. Sanju Samson could get to play a few matches. But in all seriousness, if you are playing a knockout match, I feel all the slots are filled. You have to play Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy together.”
“I don’t think there is even a debate on that. They have to play. Bumrah, Arshdeep, Kuldeep, and Varun Chakravarthy, if they are your four bowlers with Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel to do the rest, that is one killer of a team. You don’t need the batting insurance at number eight.”
Meanwhile, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel had said they will take a call on the team’s combination after looking at the pitch conditions on the match day.
India has a lot of experience in their squad and they would look to make a solid start in the tournament. Team India, eight-time Asia Cup champions, open their campaign against the UAE at the Dubai International Stadium on September 10.
India Squad for Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
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