Former Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra has put his weight behind Kuldeep Yadav to get his chances in the final XI of the Asia Cup. Kuldeep had warmed the benches in the five-match Test series against England as he could not even get a single game.

The wrist spinner bowled 32 overs in the Duleep Trophy but went wicketless and he would look to hit the ground running the continental tournament. Yadav had scalped 15 wickets in 14 matches of IPL 2025 for the Delhi Capitals.

Meanwhile, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy are expected to be India’s first-choice spinners in the Asia Cup and it would be interesting to note if Yadav would get his opportunity.

“I think he should get a chance, but the most important thing is that he should focus on his natural ball. He is a wicket-taking bowler. He should keep his mind right. He should talk to people like Gautam and the captain about the kind of field he wants and how to bowl. I think he will get a chance here,” Mishra told ANI.

Mishra, who recently announced his retirement, said Yadav should look to pick up wickets, which is his strength.

“He is a good talent, but he should remember that he is a wicket-taking bowler. He should focus on the wicket and not on how many sixes or fours he is conceding. According to the wicket and the situation, the bowling can change. You should always think about the wicket. You should think about the field and how to bowl. He will get a lot of help from that,” Mishra concluded on the matter.

India will open their campaign against the UAE at the Dubai International Stadium on September 10.

India’s Squad for Asia Cup

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Reserve players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.