The Asia Cup 2025 concluded on Sunday, September 28, with India successfully defending their trophy, as they beat arch-rivals Pakistan by five wickets to grab their ninth Asia Cup title.
In a closely fought encounter, India successfully held their nerves until the last moment and eventually emerged victorious as Rinku Singh hit the winning runs in the fourth ball of the final over of the game.
Earlier, Tilak Varma hit an unbeaten half-century as he anchored India's innings in the middle order after an early collapse of the first three batters.
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India had a comfortable run throughout the tournament as they maintained a 100 per cent win record. Except for their last Super Four clash against Sri Lanka, where the game went to a 'Super Over' and the nail-biting final, the Men in Blue had a fairly easy run in the competition.
Young opener Abhishek Sharma was undoubtedly the team's best player as he scored more than 300 runs in seven innings and rightfully declared the Player of the Tournament.
As the continental competition is over now, former Indian fast bowler Irfan Pathan picked the best performers for the Men in Blues in the Asia Cup 2025.
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Who were India's top 5 players in Asia Cup 2025? Irfan Pathan picks his favourite
On his YouTube channel, Pathan ranked his top five players from the Indian team in the Asia Cup 2025 on the basis of their performance and contribution to the team's success.
5) Varun Chakravarthy
Explaining his decision to include Chakravarthy in his list, Pathan said: "Varun’s greatest strength is his comeback ability. When Suryakumar needs a spinner in the powerplay, he trusts Varun. In the final, when there was a big partnership, Varun was brought in and took out Sahibzada Farhan. Even if he got hit for runs earlier, he made necessary changes and picked up wickets, breaking partnerships."
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4) Shivam Dube
Dube stitched an important partnership with Varma in the final, which took India home and Pathan heaped praise on the all-rounder. He said: "Shivam Dube shines under pressure, especially as Hardik Pandya was unavailable. He had to bowl with the new ball in the final against Pakistan. In batting, he came in with India needing 70 runs from 46 balls and was there until just 10 runs were needed off the last 6 balls. Though seen mostly as someone who attacks spinners, he smashed Haris Rauf for boundaries in the death overs."
3) Kuldeep Yadav
Yadav was India's best bowler of the Asia Cup and he made it to Pathan's list as No.3. The fast bowler said: "Currently, there’s no bigger match-winning spinner than Kuldeep. In the final, his spell changed the game, dismissing top batters in crucial overs, including a triple wicket in one over that rapidly collapsed Pakistan’s lineup. His bowling is always tough for Pakistani batters to read."
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2) Tilak Varma
Asia Cup final hero Tilak Varma was Pathan's second best player of the tournament, as he said: "He built his innings patiently, focusing on singles before unleashing crucial boundaries. His sweep shots and calmness under pressure proved critical, showing maturity and technique. That match-winning innings will be remembered alongside the best played against Pakistan. It may move him into leadership conversations for the future. This innings erased any doubts about his capability."
1) Abhishek Sharma
Pathan kept the best for last as he chose Sharma as is number one choice and explained: "Playing high-risk cricket with a 200+ strike rate, he continues the template set by Rohit Sharma for aggressive openers. His style, with a loose grip and flowing bat, makes for explosive shots, pull, hook, cut, step-out against fast bowlers. Abhishek refused to slow down, consistently targeting top bowlers and changing matches. He’s the most dangerous opener India’s had in T20s."