Once again, India cricket team have made the baffling decision to leave Arshdeep Singh out of the playing XI, this time in the IND vs PAK, Asia Cup 2025 final. Despite proving himself to be a clutch player just in the previous game against SL, the southpaw has been left out of the side for the title clash. Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir’s decision to leave out India’s leading wicket-getter in the final is baffling the least to say.
Were India right in leaving Arshdeep out of XI in IND vs PAK?
India have opted to go with just two pacers in the IND vs PAK final clash – Jasprit Bumrah and Shivam Dube. The fact that Hardik Pandya is missing out would have been a golden chance to include Arshdeep in the playing XI while also having the space to accommodate Dube in the line-up, since Harshit Rana has also been benched. Instead, the Men in Blue decided to have an extra batter in the line-up in the form of Rinku Singh, while leaving Singh hanging once again.
Despite being India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is, Arshdeep has played just two games in the ongoing Asia Cup. Both those games – against Oman and Sri Lanka – have come when Jasprit Bumrah was left out of India’s playing XI. The Punjab bowler recently created history by becoming the first Indian bowler to bag 100 wickets in T20Is.
Arshdeep’s inclusion in the playing XI for the Asia Cup final would have given India what they exactly needed – a bowler who can bowl controlled overs in the death overs in the absence of Hardik. His comeback against Sri Lanka was a masterclass in death bowling, something that India is lacking. After being expensive early, he returned to nail yorkers and wide lines under pressure, strangling the chase in the final overs. For a side that has leaked more than 11 an over in the last five overs in this Asia Cup, his value is obvious.
India’s Playing XI vs Pakistan, Asia Cup Final
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy
Bench: Hardik Pandya, Harshit Rana, Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh
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