Asia Cup 2025 / Will Team India drop this player for Arshdeep Singh?

Asia Cup 2025: In the first match of Asia Cup 2025, Team India made a great start by defeating UAE in a one-sided fashion by 9 wickets. But this victory has now become a bone of contention for the Indian team management. In this match, some such players performed brilliantly, after which it has now become difficult to choose the playing XI for the high-voltage match against Pakistan. Especially the question is arising whether India's highest T20 wicket-taker Arshdeep Singh will have to sit on the bench in the next match as well?

Account of the match against UAE

In the match against UAE, Kuldeep Yadav was included in the playing XI, who took four wickets. At the same time, all-rounder Shivam Dubey also showed his bowling prowess and took three wickets. On the other hand, Arshdeep Singh did not get a chance in this match and remained on the bench. Now the question is whether Arshdeep will be left out against Pakistan as well? If he is included, which player will have to be left out?

Importance of Arshdeep Singh

The match against Pakistan is very important, and Arshdeep Singh's speed and yorker bowling can prove to be decisive in this match. Arshdeep had previously performed brilliantly against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. His accurate yorkers and ability to bowl in the death overs make him important for the team. Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan emphasized in his YouTube Live that it would be difficult to keep Arshdeep out. He raised the question that if Hardik Pandya will be India's second fast bowler, can he bowl six yorkers in a row? According to Irfan, Arshdeep's yorker bowling can be very important against Pakistan.

Kuldeep or Dubey: Who will be out?

If Arshdeep is included in the playing XI, the question is who will replace him? In answer to this question, two names are most discussed: Kuldeep Yadav and Shivam Dubey. Both of them took seven wickets together against UAE, but a tough decision will have to be taken to include Arshdeep. Kuldeep Yadav is in more danger because he is unable to contribute in batting. If we look at the strategy of the current team management, they give priority to those bowlers who can also contribute to some extent in batting. In this regard, Shivam Dubey can benefit because he is an all-rounder and can also prove useful with the bat.

Question on Hardik Pandya

If Arshdeep is left out, then India will be left with only Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya for fast bowling. But can Hardik play the role of a pure fast bowler? This question is in the mind of every cricket fan. Irfan Pathan also raised questions on this and said that Hardik's bowling does not have the consistency and accuracy that a bowler like Arshdeep can bring. Arshdeep has no match especially in the art of throwing yorkers in the death overs.