Asia Cup 2025: Ajinkya Rahane picks five Indian players to watch out for in the tournament

Former Indian middle-order batter Ajinkya Rahane, speaking on his YouTube channel, has selected his top 5 Indian players to watch in the forthcoming Asia Cup 2025 campaign, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, September 9, in the United Arab Emirates.

Led by Suryakumar Yadav, India will start their campaign against the UAE on September 10. Later, they will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on September 14 and end their group stage with a match against Oman on September 19. 

Rahane went ahead with Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh as five Indian players to watch out for in the eight-team showpiece event. He started off with Axar for being an underrated player and delivering the goods whenever required for the national side.

“I feel he (Axar Patel) is a very underrated player. He has improved as a player, as a cricketer in the last two to three years. He has done really well. Whenever he’s got an opportunity as a batter, as a bowler, he has performed really well for the team. He can bowl with the new ball in the powerplay, he can bowl in the middle phase as well, and if needed, he can bowl in death overs,” Rahane said on his YouTube channel.

“As a captain, when you have a player like Axar Patel in the team, you are always happy. Let’s not forget about his fielding ability as well. And also, Asia Cup is in Dubai. Most probably, the wickets will favor the spinners. So, Axar’s skill work and also experience will come in handy for the team,” he added.

Later, Rahane has picked the all-rounder Hardik Pandya for his second choice, terming him as a player who can give the side a very good balance by bowling a few overs in the middle.

“Hardik’s role in this Asia Cup will be really important. As an all-rounder, he has done really well for the team in the past. Coming at No. 5 and 6 as a batter, creating that impact, playing with a high strike rate, reading the situation, and playing according to it, he has done it all. I’m sure he can do it again.”

“What I would like to see from Hardik is bowling his four overs for the team. If he can do that, bowl those four overs, the team can actually have a very good balance.”

Subsequently, he also heaped praise on the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav for ending the IPL 2025 season as the second-leading run-scorer. Moreover, he also talked about pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.

“Didn’t have a good series (Suryakumar Yadav) against England, but came back to form in IPL with five fifties and finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament with a healthy strike rate. We all know Surya is a dangerous batter. In this format, he has done really well. But it will be interesting to see how he goes about his batting, especially after the surgery.”

“As a captain, he has been fantastic. He is a proactive captain, led the team really well in the past, but I feel, in this Asia Cup, his batting will be really important.”

“I really look forward to see Jasprit Bumrah in the Asia Cup. He hasn’t played any T20I internationals this year. but he has been doing really well in the shorter format. his form recently has been really great. He can come in, bowl at any time and create impact, bowl those tight overs and win you those matches. His ability we all know, he’s a match winner but even if Bumrah doesn’t puck up any wickets, he can bowl those tight overs so that others will get that reward. Having Bumrah in your team is always an advantage.”

“I am excited to see Arshdeep Singh bowling with Bumrah. We all know his ability, his skill work. He can swing the ball both ways but also he can bowl those yorkers with the new ball and that’s a very good skill to have. You don’t want to depend every time on Bumrah or any other bowler. Arshdeep can bowl those yorkers, straight yorkers, wide yorkers. As I said earlier also, he can bluff the batsman. he has the slower ball and he has the ability to pick up wickets,” he concluded.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at Sky365 and download the Sky365 App to start betting today!