India is all set to take on Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 on September 14 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Asia Cup is returning after a gap of one year and this time in the T20I format as it precedes the ICC T20I World Cup 2026. Teams are seeing the Asia Cup 2025 as the opportunity to prepare for the T20 World Cup. The entire tournament will be hosted at the UAE and India is drafted in the same group as Pakistan. Oman and UAE are the other two teams in the group. The India vs Pakistan match will start a new rivalry between the two sides, this time without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. India Squad for Asia Cup 2025 Announced: Suryakumar Yadav to Lead, Shubman Gill Named Vice-Captain; Jasprit Bumrah Included, Mohammed Siraj Not Picked.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have retired from the T20I format in 2024 after winning the ICC T20 World Cup. Kohli and Rohit or either of them has been part of Team India since 2007. It has been 18 years since then and the duo have been pillars for Indian cricket in this tenue. Both have stepped up for their team on tough situations, specially against Pakistan and helped India dominate the tie for most of the part. Now they have retired and their departures have opened up opportunities for the youngsters.

The India vs Pakistan Asia Cup match will put the Indian cricketers up for a test under pressure. Taking up the mantle of the stalwarts is never easy but India has talents who can face the challenge. Fans eager to know which Team India cricketers can fill in for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for Team India against Pakistan, here's a list of three players who can fill in their shoes.

Shubman Gill

The new Indian Test captain had a really good series with the bat against England away from home. For the first time, he has showed that he can be consistent in challenging away conditions and filled in the no 4 spot successfully which has been held by Virat Kohli for a long time. Now he is back in the T20I side as the vice-captain and will definitely look to fill in the gap of Rohit and Virat in the side as a seasoned pro. Gill has been playing Internationals for six years now and has experience to back himself. He is coming from a successful IPL season and has had successful innings against Pakistan too. He is a strong candidate to fill in the spots of Rohit and Virat.

Abhishek Sharma

Known for his explosive batting, Abhishek Sharma is a reflection of Rohit Sharma's young self when he came in as a youngster. He is extremely talented and is fearless. He can take on any bowling attack and dominate in the powerplay. He has proved this time and again in the IPL and even in International cricket. Abhishek has a wide range of strokes and he is explosive against spin. He has a high-risk style of game but in modern T20Is, it is important to dictate the pace of the game from the start. Abhishek can very well do that and break games from the top against Pakistan just like Rohit Sharma did.

Tilak Varma

Considered as someone who got the Team India break much early, Tilak Varma has grown to be a well-rounded cricketer. He has scored two T20I centuries already and has success in the conditions of South Africa. A strong player of spin and a quality batter against pace, Tilak has everything needed to suceed in the conditions of UAE and specially at a key spot like number three in Team India. The last two times Pakistan played India in UAE, they had an upper hand. Tilak can help India dominate and control the middle overs and fill in Virat Kohli's role of taking the game deep before exploding.  'Virat Kohli is Man of the Match' Viral Screenshot of PCB's X Handle Shows Star Indian Batsman's Amazing Consistent Dominance Over Pakistan Ahead of Asia Cup 2025.

While experience is something which is not available to purchase, if only talent is considered, India have enough to fill in the key roles that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli performed for so many years. Now it is a matter of time to see when these cricketers fulfill their potential and build their own legacy for the future generations. For a beginner's test, the challenge to face Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 is up for grabs.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 24, 2025 11:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).