With Shubman Gill coming into the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, there is a question about who will open for the Indian side. Both Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma have been quite prolific in terms of both scoring runs and maintaining a very good tempo. But with Gill returning in the squad, it is likely one of them might have to make way to accommodate the newly appointed vice-captain and Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane said it is Gill and Abhishek who are likely to open in the upcoming showpiece event.
“Shubman he’s back in the team, I’m sure he is most likely to open with Abhishek Sharma. Personally, I would like to see Sanju Samson in the team because he has done really well. Very confident guy, very good team man. I feel that is a very important thing,” said Rahane on his YouTube channel.
“Sanju is a great team man, but that’s a very good problem to have for the team management. In my opinion, probably Sanju Samson will sit out, though as I said, I would like him to play and be in the playing XI. But Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma will open the innings for the team,” he added.
Rahane also expressed his excitement to see both Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh playing together. “I’m really excited to see Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh bowling together in this Asia Cup. We don’t want to talk too much about Jasprit Bumrah. We all know how dangerous he is. Arshdeep Singh, very confident guy, swings the ball both ways. He can bowl straight and wide yorkers as well,” said Rahane.
“The 11th player will be depending on the wicket because we are playing in Dubai. Depending on the wicket and conditions either Varun Chakaravarthy or Harshit Rana,” he added.
Rahane’s playing XI: Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy/Harshit Rana
