Asia Cup 2025: Hardik Pandya To Sanju Samson - 4 Indian Players Aim To Chase Major T20I Milestones

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Four Indian players are poised to achieve significant milestones in their T20I careers during the Asia Cup 2025. Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, and Arshdeep Singh are each on the cusp of achieving rare feats in the tournament.

Team India will begin their quest to defend their Asia Cup triumph when they take on the UAE in their opening group stage match at the Dubai International Stadium on September 10. The tournament will take place in the T20 format, keeping in mind the next year's T20 World Cup, which co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

As Team India aims to defend their Asia Cup title, which it won in 2023, four players are aiming to achieve big milestones in their respective T20I careers. Let's take a look at each player's milestones lined up ahead of the continental T20 tournament.

If Hardik Pandya steps onto the field for Team India's opening match against the UAE, he would unlock an achievement straight away. The all-rounder would achieve what the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, or Jasprit Bumrah could not achieve. Pandya participated in the previous editions of the Asia Cup in the T20 format in 2016 and 2022, and the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 will be his third consecutive tournament appearance in the shortest format.

With this, Hardik Pandya would become the first Indian player to feature in consecutive editions of the Asia Cup T20. Moreover, Pandya is 3 wickets away from becoming the leading wicket-taker in the Asia Cup T20, surpassing former Indian teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar's tally of 13 wickets. Last but not least, Pandya is 188 runs and 6 wickets to become the second player to complete 2000 runs and take 100 wickets in T20Is.

Suryakumar Yadav is expected to lead Team India in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. The right-handed batter has milestones lined up ahead of the continental T20 tournament. Suryakumar Yadav is just one century away from becoming the 2nd batter after his former teammate and captain Rohit Sharma to record five centuries in T20I history. The 34-year-old is just 4 sixes away from becoming the second Indian batter after Rohit to complete 150 sixes in T20I.

If Suryakumar Yadav returns to his form after a break and recovery following sports hernia surgery, he can complete 3000 T20I runs, requiring 402 runs to achieve this feat. If he maintains the strike rate of 160 through the tournament and potentially completes 3000 runs, Suryakumar would become the first batter to complete the milestone at such a strike rate.

Sanju Samson has reportedly been considered the first-choice wicketkeeper for the Asia Cup 2025 as Rishabh Pant is unlikely to be available due to a toe fracture sustained during the Manchester Test. Samson has consistently received a chance in the India T20I team since the Sri Lanka series in July last year and has had great T20I series against South Africa, registering two centuries.

Samson has three centuries to his name in T20Is, including one against Bangladesh, and is just one century away from becoming the third batter after Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav to register four centuries in the shortest format of the game. He also has an opportunity to become the first batter to record four T20I centuries before completing 1000 runs in the format. Currently, Samso has amassed 861 runs at an average of 25.32 in 42 matches.

Arshdeep Singh has been regular in the India T20I set-up ever since making his debut in 2021 and was part of two T20 World Cups in 2022 and 2024. In the absence of senior players like Jasprit Bumrah or Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep was the lead pacer for Team India in the shortest format of the game.

Now, Arshdeep Singh is on the verge of achieving a massive milestone that no Indian bowler has accomplished. The Punjab pacer is just one wicket away from completing 100 wickets in the T20Is. Singh has scalped 99 wickets at an average of 18.30 and an economy rate of 8.29 in 63 matches.

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