Shreyas, Jitesh, Rinku and Riyan in focus ahead of India's Asia Cup squad selection meeting

New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) After continuous chatter of well over a week, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is likely to meet on Tuesday to finalise India’s squad for the Men's T20 Asia Cup, happening in the UAE from September 9-28.

Whoever is picked for the eight-team tournament will also be sureshot figures in the defending champions’ build-up to next year’s Men’s T20 World Cup, to be held in India and Sri Lanka.

With India’s opening match scheduled for September 10, the spotlight is firmly on the fate of Shreyas Iyer, Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh and Riyan Parag, as IANS understands that these four names are likely to be discussed in detail by the five-member selection committee.

With Suryakumar Yadav set to lead after making considerable progress in his rehab post hernia operation, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are certain to retain their places after being opening batters since the home series against Bangladesh last year.

Despite enduring an inconsistent IPL season – more so due to a side strain injury and being troubled by Jofra Archer’s hard lengths and extra pace in T20Is against England this year, Samson could just hold on to his place in the team, especially with the Indian team management inclined to back its core set of players.

There’s also the matter of picking a back-up opener, which stands in a toss-up between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Test captain Shubman Gill. Though Jaiswal is in with a greater chance to be in India’s squad for Asia Cup, whether the selectors take him or Gill remains to be seen. It is to be noted that India’s first Test against the West Indies begins on October 2 in Ahmedabad, just five days after Asia Cup final is played on September 28 in Dubai.

With Suryakumar, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel being batting order certainties, it would be interesting to see if Shreyas gets a look in. What really strengthens Shreyas’ case is his spin-hitting prowess, much-improved skills to handle short balls and showing assurance as a reliable middle-order batter for Punjab Kings in IPL 2025.

On the other hand, Jitesh’s name is a hot favourite for the reserve keeper-batter slot, who can also play finisher’s role when needed with his power-hitting skills and repertoire of ramps and scoops. Jitesh had a stellar IPL 2025 season with the bat and gloves to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru win its maiden IPL title.

Amidst all this, Rinku, who was a part of India’s last T20I assignment against England in January, may just miss out. Rinku has been a designated finisher for both India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). But a patchy IPL season and what if India seeks an all-rounder to excel in slow conditions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi may conjure up to weaken Rinku’s case.

With Nitish Kumar Reddy still undergoing rehab for knee ligament injury, Riyan, Sundar and Shivam Dube shape up as contenders for an all-rounders’ slot. Sundar’s off-spin along with his batting makes him a tempting prospect while Dube is a like-to-like replacement for Nitish in terms of skillsets.

Riyan, whose batting and handy spin bowling got him on T20I tours of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in 2024, provides the balance, but has not done anything worthwhile yet. With Axar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakaravarthy set to helm spin department, it would be interesting to see who between Sundar and Riyan gets selectors’ backing.

In fast bowling department, with Hardik, Jasprit Bumrah (provided he’s picked) and Arshdeep Singh around, decision needs to be made on including either of Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana. In the end, the Asia Cup squad will be the first glimpse of India’s plans for the World Cup, and debate over inclusions and omissions is certain to continue until the main tournament gets underway.

--IANS

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