Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif feels that Washington Sundar will be the player that the side will 'miss' during Asia Cup 2025. Though the all-rounder has been included in the Men in Blue's 5-member reserve list for the tournament, it is unlikely that he will get any chance to play.
Sundar's last appearance for India in the shortest format came earlier this year during a match against England. The 25-year-old has so far played 54 T20Is, picking up 48 wickets and scoring 193 runs. Though his numbers with the bat aren't that impressive, he could have helped the Men in Blue quite a bit with the ball especially with the conditions in UAE known to favour the spinners.
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Kaif highlighted how the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup last year consisted of three quality all-rounders in Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya while they have only opted for two all-rounders for the Asia Cup. The former batter further remarked that Suryakumar Yadav & Co. will need to find a new winning combination in order to triumph in the tournament.
Kaif's remark on Sundar's exclusion
“Rohit’s team won the T20 World Cup with 3 all-rounders – Axar, Jadeja, Hardik – and that meant 6 proper bowling options and batting till 8. At the Asia Cup, with only 2 genuine all-rounders – Hardik and Axar. – India will have to find a new winning combination. Washington Sundar will be missed," Kaif wrote on X.
Sundar's last international appearance came in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy where India took on England in a five-match Test series. The all-rounder played a key role in the Men in Blue drawing the highly important series by 2-2. It remains to be seen if he gets picked for the side's upcoming two-match red-ball series against West Indies which will commence from October 2.
Meanwhile, India will be kicking-off their campaign in the competition with the clash against UAE on September 10 before locking horns against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14. Their group stage will come to a conclusion with the match against Oman on September 19.