Asia Cup 2025: 3 records Suryakumar Yadav can break in the UAE next month
Yadav looking to bounce back at Asia Cup after injury
After a stunning Test series in England, the Indian cricket team have reconvened back at home and preparations are already underway for their next assignment, which comes in the form of the eagerly anticipated Asia Cup 2025.
This will be the first time that the Men in Blue will be featuring in a limited-overs competition since winning the ICC Champions Trophy at the start of March, and it will also mark the return of T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
Yadav was forced to miss his side’s trip to England due to an injury that forced him to undergo surgery on his lower abdomen. Thereafter, he was aided to a full recovery at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
The 34-year-old will enter the Asia Cup eyeing up three records, with the most notable being that he could draw level with Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell as the players with the most centuries in T20 internationals (five each).
Next, Yadav needs a further 402 runs to reach the 3,000-run mark in the shortest format of the game. He currently averages 38.20 and a strike rate of 167.07, and could become the first batter in history to reach 3,000 T20I runs with a strike rate above 150.
Finally, Yadav currently sits on 146 sixes in his T20I career, just four short of the magical 150 mark. He is fifth in the all-time list behind Sharma (205), Martin Guptill (173), Muhammad Waseem (168) and England's keeper Jos Buttler (160).
India team selection conundrum ahead of Asia Cup 2025
The Indian team that will travel to the United Arab Emirates to compete in the 2025 Asia Cup is expected to be announced next week, and there are plenty of major selection decisions that Gautam Gambhir and co will have to make ahead of the tournament.
Given that the likes of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, among others, are expected to return to the setup next month, there are a few players who shone in England whose places in the squad could be at risk.
Newly appointed Test captain Shubman Gill and rising star Yashasvi Jaiswal fall in that category, while Rishabh Pant will likely have to make way for Sanju Samson, who had a very impressive Indian Premier League campaign.
Perhaps the biggest call of them all will be that of star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who looked well off the pace upon returning to the team against the Three Lions following injury last month. India failed to win any of the three games Bumrah featured in.
India will kick off the 2025 Asia Cup against the UAE at the Dubai International Stadium on September 10.
