Hardik, Axar key & will Dube bowl?

India cricket team have no dearth of all-round options in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. The 15-member squad comprises of stars like Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube among others who can deliver with both bat and ball for the Men in Blue. Part-time bowling options include players like Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma and Rinku Singh. The team also has two other all-round options in the form of Washington Sundar and Riyan Parag on the list of standby players for the tournament.

While Hardik and Axar are sure shot inclusions in the playing XI as go-to all-rounders, it remains to be seen if Dube will get a spot, let alone a chance to bowl. The 8-nation tournament, which be held in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, will get underway from September 9, with India set to take on UAE on September 10 in their tournament opener.

Rating India’s all-rounders for Asia Cup

1. Hardik Pandya (8.5/10)

Over the years, Hardik has emerged as one of India’s frontline bowlers in T20Is, departing from the earlier trend where he was seen as a bigger contributor with the bat than the ball. The all-rounder has 1812 runs and 94 wickets from 114 T20Is to his name. He is the third-highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is and the second pacer on the list behind Arshdeep Singh.

Hardik will be hoping to replicate his feat from Champions Trophy 2025 where he played a crucial role in helping India win the title. Talking about his form in the shortest format of the game, the all-rounder had a decent IPL 2025 season. He scored 224 runs and bagged 14 wickets from 15 matches.

2. Axar Patel (7/10)

Another reliable all-rounder for India, more so with the ball than the bat, is Axar. In 71 T20Is, he has amassed 535 runs and has bagged 75 wickets. Axar will be instrumental for India’s success on the spin favouring pitches in Dubai, along with Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy.

Like Hardik, Patel too enjoyed success in Champions Trophy. Coming out to bat in the middle-order, he aced his role to perfection, scoring 109 runs in 5 innings. With the ball, he managed to take five wickets. In IPL 2025, Axar finished with 263 runs and 5 wickets from 12 matches.

3. Shivam Dube (5/10)

Reputed to be an explosive middle-order batter who can smash gigantic sixes, Dube’s form has seen a dip off late. He has 535 runs and 13 wickets to his name from 35 T20Is. He had a decent IPL 2025 season where he managed to score 357 runs from 14 matches. However, since he was coming back from injury, he bowled in two overs in the tournament.

While it seems unlikely that Dube will make it to the playing XI for all games in the Asia Cup, it remains to be seen if he will be given the ball at all.

4. Washington Sundar (9/10)

Another reliable all-rounder who has failed to make it to the main squad but is on the list of reserves is Washington. Sundar last featured in a T20I back in January 2025 against England. Since then, he had a decent IPL season and tasted much success in the recently concluded IND vs ENG Test series – with both bat and ball.