Who Will Make The Cut For The Asia Cup Twenty20?

The chatter in the social media as to whether India should play Pakistan — after the Pahalgam terror attack — in the Asia Cup Twenty20 in Dubai in September has subsided a bit; it may gather steam though once the Indian team is announced on Tuesday (Aug 19), but the media has already gone on an overdrive to speculate the likely squad for the eight nation tournament. The Continental tournament is the first of a handful that will help the big boys in Asia to prepare for the Twenty20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in 2026 and so India – the ICC World Twenty20 winner last year – would be keen and eager to put its team through the wringer from now on. India will play Pakistan on September 14, in between its opening campaign against UAE and Oman. The Asia Cup spins around India-Pakistan clashes with a full house assured at the Dubai International Stadium. India is the host of the Asia Cup, but it has chosen to run the competition in Dubai because of Pakistan’s presence in the competition and also that a hybrid model would not work what with India refusing to travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy that Rohit Sharma’s team won in Dubai six months ago. With India drawing the Test series (2-2) in England and with skipper Shubman Gill in good nick, the grapevine is rife with speculation of who all will make the cut, in particular Jasprit Bumrah, Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer etc. The selection committee will look at a basket brimming with players, all talented bringing in their explosive dynamics to the 120-ball format.