Arjit Kumar - Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025India, who qualified for the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup with two consecutive wins, will face Oman in the final Group A match on Friday. India defeated the UAE and Pakistan in one-sided matches. The team fielded three spinners and one specialist fast bowler in both matches, and it will be interesting to see if India makes any changes to its strategy against Oman.
The Indian team management will avoid making any major changes to the playing XI for the match against Oman, but it is highly likely that fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will be rested for this match. India is expected to play its Super Four matches on September 21, 24, and 26, followed by the final on September 28. Therefore, if the tournament's favorites qualify for the title, they may have to play four matches in seven days.
Bumrah's workload management is always a topic of discussion, and the match against Oman will test India's preparations for the upcoming tournament. In such a situation, the team management may consider resting Bumrah. The team management understands the importance of keeping its key fast bowler fresh for the challenging phase ahead. It is not known whether Bumrah himself wishes to miss the match, but the decision is expected to be pragmatic, as it is better to have him fully prepared for the final stages of the tournament rather than for a less important match.
If Bumrah is out, either Arshdeep Singh or Harshit Rana could get a chance in his place. However, Arshdeep's claim will be stronger because he is more experienced and is close to completing 100 wickets in T20 Internationals. On the batting front, top- and middle-order batsmen will prefer to spend more time at the crease in match conditions.
India's first two matches against UAE and Pakistan were one-sided and in such a situation, by batting fearlessly against Oman, the team can improve its game before facing tough opponents like Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. India defeated UAE by nine wickets, while Pakistan by seven wickets. India's bowling was very good in both the matches and India chased the low target easily.
