Asia Cup 2023: From Shubman Gill to Suryakumar Yadav, five India players who face make-or-break situation

The upcoming 2023 Asia Cup is an opportunity for India to establish their supremacy in the region, but it also offers invaluable preparation ahead of the ODI World Cup.

The Men in Blue will play Pakistan (2 September) and Nepal (4 September) in Pallekele as far as their Asia Cup group games are concerned. And are the favourites to qualify for the final from the Super Four stage.

The upcoming matches provide what could be the final opportunity for a few players to potentially seal their spot in the 15-man India squad for the World Cup that starts on 5 October.

But, those players will be under pressure to perform exceptionally well or they may have to sacrifice their spot for someone else.

Let’s now take a look at five such players from India who will be desperate to come good in the Asia Cup:

Shubman Gill

Despite topping the yo-yo test with a score of 18.7, Shubman Gill has his task cut out in the Asia Cup.

Ever since his productive IPL 2023 season with Gujarat Titans, Gill has looked off-colour for India and has been struggling for consistency.

Shubman Gill has the highest score on the Yo-Yo test. [PTI]

– 18.7 by Gill….!!!! pic.twitter.com/HpIzqLRWGx

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 25, 2023

While his knock of 85 off 92 in the third ODI against West Indies might have taken some pressure away from him, his limited-overs form has been a cause for concern with scores of 3, 7, 6 and 9 in four of the five T20Is against the same opponent.

The Asia Cup poses a different challenge altogether, and even though Gill faces minimal risk of being overlooked, he still faces a tough next couple of months.

Gill has the responsibility of providing stability and runs in India’s top-order, and should he underperform in the Asia Cup, it would raise questions about his batting position in the XI.

In such a case, maybe Ishan Kishan would become an ideal candidate to open with Rohit Sharma, and should this happen, it remains to be seen if Gill gets demoted to the number three batting position.

Also read: Top five moments from past editions of Asia Cup

Suryakumar Yadav

If there is someone who faces a make-or-break situation in the Asia Cup, it’s Suryakumar Yadav. SKY has so far failed to make much of an impact in ODIs, as he usually does for India in the T20Is.

Suryakumar Yadav said "I am hoping that I can crack the ODI format soon, I have been talking with Rahul sir, Rohit, Virat a lot for getting better in ODI". [Star Sports] pic.twitter.com/mvVejsP7jA

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 28, 2023

The 32-year-old struggled against West Indies on slow pitches, registering scores of 19, 24 and 35.

It’s safe to say that SKY has entered the last-chance salon as far as his dreams of making India’s World Cup squad are concerned. Should Suryakumar fail to make much impact in the Asia Cup, the team management could look elsewhere, and eventually he would have to sacrifice his spot.

Tilak Varma

Tilak Varma only entered the international arena in early August when he made his T20I debut against West Indies. He was a silver lining in what was a difficult series for the Men in Blue under Hardik Pandya, and there have been calls from a section of experts who believe Varma is an ideal candidate for the number four spot in ODIs.

To put it in context, Varma scored 173 runs from five T20Is with a half-century against West Indies. But, the only problem is, that he is yet to be tried and tested in ODIs.