Sanju Samson has been named in India’s 15-member squad for the Asia Cup 2025, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on Tuesday. The T20 tournament will be held in the UAE from September 9 to 28.
Samson, who captains Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, has played 42 T20 Internationals (T20Is) for the Indian cricket team and has scored 861 runs at an average of 25.32 and a strike rate of 152.38. He also has three T20I centuries to his name.
In November last year, Samson was India’s second-highest run-getter in the T20I series against South Africa with 216 runs at an average of 72.00 and a blistering strike rate of 194.59.
Samson’s consistency has also been unmatched at the Rajasthan Royals. With 4027 runs in 149 IPL matches, he is the team's all-time leading run-scorer.
Three more Royals stars - Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag and Yashasvi Jaiswal - have been named among the standby players for the Asia Cup. All three were part of Rajasthan’s squad in IPL 2025.
India, the reigning champions and record eight-time winners of the Asia Cup, will begin their campaign against hosts UAE on September 10 in Dubai before facing arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14 in the group stage.
The competition, alternating formats since 2016, returns to T20Is this year after last being played in the 50-over format in 2023.
Indian cricket team for Asia Cup 2025
Indian cricket team: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Standby players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag Yashasvi Jaiswal
