Virender Sehwag picks 3 game-changers for India at Asia Cup

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has picked three game-changers for India for the upcoming Asia Cup. Sehwag reckons opening batter Abhishek Sharma, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and gun fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah can win the game on their own for the team in the continental tournament. 

While Abhishek Sharma is the top-ranked T20I batter, Varun Chakravarthy is in fourth place in the bowlers’ rankings. Sharma has performed consistently in the shortest format of the game whereas Chakravarthy can bamboozle any batting line-up with his variations. Chakravarthy had picked nine wickets in three matches of the 2025 Champions Trophy and had played a key role in India’s successful run.

Bumrah is known to rattle the opposition with his deadly accuracy at both end of the innings and he would be fresh after the Test series against England.

“I think Abhishek Sharma can be a game-changer. Bumrah is always a game-changer. Varun Chakravarthy, with his mystery bowling, was very effective in the Champions Trophy and in the T20 format as well. So, these are some game changers for India who can win matches on their own,” Sehwag said on Sony Sports.

India has picked a solid team for the Asia Cup and the competition was such that even in-form batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, and Shreyas Iyer could not make it to the squad.

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

India, eight-time Asia Cup champions, open their campaign against the UAE at the Dubai International Stadium on September 10.