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Mohammed Kaif says India will miss Washington Sundar at the Asia Cup, highlighting the importance of all-rounders in recent T20 World Cup success.
Washington Sundar has been named in the standby list for the Asia Cup (Picture credit: AFP)
Former cricketer Mohammed Kaif has said that India will miss the services of Washington Sundar at the Asia Cup, pointing out how the presence of three all-rounders in the T20 World Cup squad last year was crucial in the team winning the title after 17 years.
India clinched the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados by beating South Africa in the final, ending an 11-year wait for an ICC trophy and a 13-year drought for a world title. Since then, the dressing room has seen two major changes.
India are gearing up for their first major T20 tournament since the 2024 World Cup, all set to be held in September in the UAE. But Kaif believes that the new-look team will need to work hard to discover a fresh winning formula.
Kaif noted that the Rohit Sharma-led World Cup-winning team had the luxury of three genuine all-rounders in Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya, whereas the current side has only two, Axar and Hardik.
“Rohit’s team won the T20 World Cup with 3 all-rounders – Axar, Jadeja, Hardik – and that meant 6 proper bowling options and batting till 8. At the Asia Cup, with only 2 genuine all-rounders – Hardik and Axar. – India will have to find a new winning combination. Washington Sundar will be missed,” Kaif tweeted on Monday afternoon.
Rohit’s team won the T20 World Cup with 3 all-rounders – Axar, Jadeja, Hardik – and that meant 6 proper bowling options and batting till 8. At Asia Cup, with only 2 genuine allrounders – Hardik and Axar. – India will have to find a new winning combination. Washington Sundar will…— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) September 8, 2025
The team management placed Washington Sundar on the stand-by list for the Asia Cup, while batter Rinku Singh was included in the 15-member team.
“He’s (Sundar) always been in the scheme of things. At the moment, we have two mystery spinners/wristspinners in Varun and Kuldeep and Axar has been around for a while,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar had told the media.
Sundar’s last T20I was against England earlier this year in Rajkot.
September 08, 2025, 17:27 IST
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