There has been a lot of conversation around what India’s batting lineup should look like with the BCCI set to announce the team for the upcoming Asia Cup on Tuesday. With the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Sai Sudarshan, Tilak Verma and Abhishek Sharma having a fine IPL season this year, they are expected to feature in the 15-member squad. This year’s IPL saw 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi scoring the second fastest century in the tournament’s history with a 35-ball ton against Gujarat Titans for Rajasthan Royals.
The youngster also had an impressive tour with India Youth team in England, where he amassed 335 runs in five Youth ODI’s including fastest Youth ODI hundred apart from scoring a half-century in Youth Test series against England. Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has urged the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to pick the youngster for the Asia Cup and have in the
“You have to play boldly. Don’t make him wait. Don’t say things like let him mature. He is already playing with remarkable maturity. His shot-making has been on another level. If I were chairman, I would definitely have him in the 16,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
Indian have won the Asia Cup eight times in their history with the last Asia Cup win coming in the 2023 edition of the tournament. With this year’s Asia Cup being played in T20 format, the main focus of the selection committee would be to pick a team, which can win the tournament in this format. The last time India won the Asia Cup played in a T20 format was in 2016, when the Indian team scored an eight-wicket win over Bangladesh in the final.
Srikkanth also said that he does not believe that Sanju Samson will be in the team and that he sees Abhishek Sharma as certain for the opener’s role in the Indian squad. “Samson is doubtful, according to me. My first-choice opener is Abhishek Sharma, no doubt. I will have two more openers. My picks would be Vaibhav Suryavanshi or Sai Sudharsan, with Shubman Gill as an option. If I were a selector, I would keep Vaibhav in the 15 for the T20 World Cup,” added Srikkanth.
Earlier, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra had spoken about Tilak Verma being preferred over Sheryas Iyer in the final XI in Asia Cup. While Iyer led Punjab kings to the IPL final this year and had scored 604 runs, Verma had scored 343 runs in 16 matches. In t20Is, Verma has scored a total of 749 runs in 25 matches at an average of 49.93. Chopra talked about how Verma has been in fine form as a number 3 for the Indian T20I team in recent years.
“We have built a case that Shreyas’ name should be there, but the truth is that Tilak Varma is playing either at No. 3 or No. 4. Since he has started playing at No. 3, he has been unstoppable. Since he bats lower down the order in the IPL, it’s an apple vs orange comparison. If you see his numbers, you feel the guy hasn’t done anything wrong. He also allows us one more thing. You can maintain a left-right combination. Will you drop Tilak Varma from the XI because I believe Shreyas Iyer’s best place to bat is either No. 3 or No. 4? If he goes to No. 5, I think it will be a little too low in T20 cricket, and Surya is at No. 4,” Chopra had said on his Youtube channel.
