One can’t remember the last time Team India played a multinational tournament without Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma. In this regard, the 2025 edition of the Asia Cup will be a new beginning. Events like this make players household names in India. Kohli’s 183 against Pakistan in the 2012 Asia Cup shot him into stardom. For Rohit, it was the 2007 World Cup.
As a new dawn begins, we’ll have to place all of our hopes on other players. For Team India’s success in the Asia Cup, all-rounders could play a vital role. Head coach Gautam Gambhir’s a big believer in batting depth and lots of bowling options. That means their success could mean victory for India. Before the tournament, let us look back at how the Indian all-rounders have performed in 2025. Note: Only T20Is are considered, and not all T20 games.
Hardik Pandya
Matches: 5
Runs: 112
Average: 28
Strike Rate: 138.27
Wickets: 5
Economy: 8.84
India’s and perhaps the world’s best pace-bowling all-rounder, Hardik Pandya, did fine in the only T20I series the Men in Blue played against England. He couldn’t score as quickly as he and the team had hoped, but chipped in with valuable wickets. Hardik had a good Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, which bodes well.
Axar Patel
Matches: 5
Runs: 37
Average: 9.25
Strike Rate: 108.82
Wickets: 6
Economy: 7.07
Axar Patel was abysmal against England. In general, his main skill, bowling, hasn’t been great of late. In the IPL, he took a mere 5 wickets in 12 matches. But at the same time, he’s upgraded his batting. It’ll be fascinating to watch how well he goes with the ball on spin-friendly surfaces in the UAE.
Shivam Dube
Matches: 2
Runs: 83
Average: 41.50
Strike Rate: 176.59
Wickets: 2
Economy: 5.50
Surprisingly, Shivam Dube was India’s best all-rounder against England. That’s partially because he played just 2 matches. That too happened because Nitish Reddy got injured. He scored big and quick. Bowled just 2 overs but did splendidly. But in the IPL, he wasn’t great. He struck at just 132.22 with the bat and bowled just 2 overs in 14 matches. It’ll be interesting to see whether Team India plays him or not.
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