India Predicted Playing 11 vs Sri Lanka for Match 18 of 2025 Asia Cup ft. Arshdeep Singh & Harshit Rana

India will battle it out against Sri Lanka in Match 18 of the 2025 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday, September 26. The Men in Blue are unbeaten in the competition so far and are the undoubted favorites for the title, having already booked a spot in the final against Pakistan.

Given their position in the tournament, India are likely to rest and rotate during their clash against the Lankans. Multiple players in the middle order need time in the middle, while a couple of frontline bowlers could be replaced by fresh faces. Without anything tangible on the line apart from long-term preparation, Suryakumar Yadav and Co. would be justified in taking that approach.

India's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

On that note, here is India's predicted playing XI for Match 18 of the 2025 Asia Cup.

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Openers: Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill

Asia Cup Cricket - Source: Getty

There's a slight chance that India might want to open with Sanju Samson to give him some time in the middle, but Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill will presumably hold on to their spots at the top of the order. While Abhishek has been arguably the batter of the tournament so far, Gill will want to cross the half-century mark for the first time.

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Middle Order: Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wk)

India v England - 5th T20I - Source: Getty

Will Jitesh Sharma and Rinku Singh get the opportunity to feature against Sri Lanka? It's hard to see how India will manage that without taking some much-needed game time away from the current middle order.

Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube have all been off color in the 2025 Asia Cup. All four batters need to spend time in the middle to shake off their rustiness. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel haven't been particularly involved in the batting department either.

It would make sense if India decided to rest Hardik and give Jitesh a go, but Rinku will probably have to sit this one out.

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Lower Order: Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh

Asia Cup Cricket - Source: Getty

During the last clash against Oman, India rested Varun Chakaravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah.

While Bumrah is likely to be on the sidelines once again, the think tank might want to give Varun a chance at ending up among the wickets. Kuldeep didn't play a lot of cricket in the lead-up to the current competition, but he might just be rested to keep himself fresh for the final. Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh are the obvious frontrunners to enter the fray.