"I’ll say this even with my glasses on" - Ravichandran Ashwin backs 26-year-old to be a part of India's T20I XI ahead of Asia Cup 2025 final

Ravichandran Ashwin backed pacer Arshdeep Singh to be a part of India's T20I Xi ahead of the Asia Cup 2025 final. India will play Pakistan in the title clash on Sunday, September 28, in Dubai.

While the Men in Blue have focused on batting depth, Ravichandran Ashwin reckoned that Arshdeep should be in the team, as not much is required from a number eight batter. However, he also added that the batting coach should work on training the likes of Arshdeep, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Jasprit Bumrah before the upcoming T20 World Cup.

"I’ll say this even with my glasses on! Even if you wake me up from deep sleep, my answer won’t change: Arshdeep must play. How many runs will the number 8 batsman make? Not too many, and you don’t need that many. And for the World Cup in six months work on Arshdeep’s batting, work on Varun Chakravarthy’s batting, Bumrah can already hit a bit, decent bat swing. The batting coach needs to give more time to these guys," he said on his YouTube channel 'Ash ki Baat'.

Talking more on the same, Ravichandran Ashwin reckoned that bowlers need to be given situation-based practice for T20 cricket. He felt that simply batting in the nets would not help them.

"Batting practice needs to be situational in T20, typically, an 8th batter might only get 4-6 balls if it is not a bad day. The goal is to maximize those balls, and Arshdeep has that long handle. But when the moment comes, say you need 15 in 10 balls, how to rotate strike, which bowler to target for boundaries? They need to talk about these things. It’s not just about net batting; it’s about practical planning against specific bowlers," he stated.

"Sometimes pointless practice is done, tailenders, or those batting lower down, never get realistic match-like bowling in nets. How will they set up a field? These kinds of practice details matter. If they train like this, even our bowlers can become like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, or Kagiso Rabada with the bat," Ravichandran Ashwin added.

Arshdeep has played just two games in the Asia Cup 2025. He has missed out on being a regular pick with the team looking to add batting depth. The pacer only came in when Jasprit Bumrah was rested.

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India will have to play Arshdeep if Hardik Pandya misses the Asia Cup 2025 final, reckons Ravichandran Ashwin

All-rounder Hardik Pandya left the field after having bowled just one over against Sri Lanka on Friday, September 26. He experienced discomfort in his left thigh. While the management is treating him, and his fitness will be assessed, there is no confirmation yet whether he will play the final.

Ravichandran Ashwin expressed that India would not be too stressed should Hardik miss the final. He reckoned that in such a scenario, they would have to play Arshdeep Singh. Arshdeep was expensive against Sri Lanka but held his nerves in the Super Over. He gave away just two runs and bagged two wickets from five balls.

"The way Arshdeep bowled, he proved again why we keep saying on this channel that Arshdeep is needed. Once more, he proved it. So, in many ways, if Hardik doesn’t play, India will have to play Arshdeep. So, for India, Hardik is necessary, but this is one of those situations where it could also be good, because Arshdeep will get played and can again show why he’s that important bowler for India," he said.

It remains to be seen who India would play if Hardik Pandya does not recover in time for the final.