India fielding coach Ryan Ten Doeschate has announced that India is not looking forward to making any changes to their Playing XI for the blockbuster match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025.
India started their Asia Cup 2025 campaign on September 10 against the UAE at the Dubai International Stadium. On the other hand, Pakistan kicked off their campaign on September 12 against Oman. Both teams started off with crushing wins over their opposition.
India has a huge lead on their net run rate, as they won the match against the UAE with 93 balls remaining. They have taken a 10.483 lead in the run rate, while Pakistan, on the other hand, has also won the match by a huge 93-run margin, hence leading by an NRR of +4.650.
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Asia Cup 2025: We are unlikely to make any changes—India coach
Recently, in an interaction with the media, fielding coach Ryan Ten Doeschate said that the Indian management is not looking forward to making any changes to their XI for the game against Pakistan.
The much-awaited game between the arch-rivals would hence mark the presence of three frontline spinners, and Shivam Dube would remain as India’s third seamer alongside Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya. This means that Arshdeep Singh will have to wait further for his 100th T20I scalp.
“We are unlikely to make any changes,” said Ryan Ten Doeschate, ahead of the clash on Sunday.
Arshdeep Singh is likely to miss the Third Major T20I match in a row
India’s premier fast bowler, Arshdeep Singh, has featured for India in all T20I contests since his debut back in 2021. He has emerged as one of the finest players in the shortest format of the game.
The left-arm pacer from Punjab has played in 63 games for India in the shortest format of the game, which also included the Asia Cup 2022, the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 and the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, where India ended as the victorious side.
In the 2024 World Cup, Arshdeep was the highest wicket-taker for India across the competition alongside Jasprit Bumrah. He was the highest wicket-taker in the entire World Cup with 17 wickets for the Men in Blue.
With 99 wickets, he is India’s highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game and is just one wicket away from becoming the first Indian player with 100 T20 international wickets. He will be missing his third consecutive T20I match if he misses the game against Pakistan.
When was the last time Pakistan won against India in the Asia Cup 2025?
Pakistan has not been playing India in bilaterals for over a decade now, as the strained relations between the two nations have had an impact on the Indian Cricket team. Pakistan has been playing against India in the ACC and ICC events.
Pakistan last won an Asia Cup match against India in the knockouts of the 2022 Asia Cup, where the two teams clashed and Pakistan emerged as the winners. Arshdeep Singh was then part of the Indian squad for the Asia Cup, which was the last time they won against India.
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