Former India player Aakash Chopra has said that Arshdeep Singh will not be a part of India’s playing XI for their Asia Cup 2025 clash against Pakistan as well. He added that the conditions in Dubai help the spinners more. However, India will face Pakistan in their second Group A game in Dubai on Sunday, 14 September.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “I think they won’t play him. They will think about him for sure, but they won’t play him, although it’s slightly surprising in a sense, because when T20s started, it was being said that the fast bowlers were dominant, and why spinners were being kept. Then spinners started pulling their weight in the format.”

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“However, slowly-slowly, we have reached a stage where we are saying that all spinners can be played. Dew is not coming here, something everyone was wary of. The pitches are looking slightly dusty. It doesn’t seem like the ball is skidding. If it’s not skidding, the pitches are dusty, and dew is not coming, the spinners are more dominant,” he shared.

However, Aakash Chopra also shared his views on whether India are moving towards four spinners for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

“It’s not ideal, as who will you get to bowl the death overs? What will happen if dew comes? The World Cup is in February-March. Chances of dew will be very bright in a February-March World Cup, and you might need two fast bowlers. Some teams don’t have fast bowlers who are that good. So you feel that whoever plays after Bumrah would be a downgrade, and that it would be better to play an upgraded spinner, but here you have Arshdeep. I feel we will need an Arshdeep Singh,” Aakash Chopra concluded.