Asia Cup 2025: Sunil Gavaskar advises India to plan ahead of Super Four

Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary opening batsman, has advised Team India to plan ahead of the Asia Cup, urging that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah be rested not only for the dead rubber against Oman, but also for the opening Super Four against Pakistan.

India has already secured first place in Group A with convincing victories over the UAE and Pakistan, thus the Abu Dhabi match against Oman provides an opportunity to rotate the roster. The Super 4s begin this weekend, with India’s anticipated rematch versus Pakistan on September 21, 2025. The former also believes Bumrah is still India’s top wicket-taker in T20Is, and his importance to the squad in major games may outweigh the necessity to sideline him in a dead rubber.

“This would give the batters some practice not just for the game against Pakistan, but also for the upcoming Super 4 matches against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It’s more about preparing the batters than the bowlers. I believe Jasprit Bumrah should be rested, perhaps even for the Pakistan game, so he’s available for the bigger match on Sunday, the 28th, which is against Sri Lanka. That’s what India should be looking at. Of course, there will still need to be one bench player included, but Bumrah should be left out for tomorrow’s game to give him res,” Gavaskar said as quoted by India Today.