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Asia Cup 2024: A New Era for India and Pakistan After the Farewell of Giants

  • By Thetripurapost Sports Desk, Dubai
  • Sep 09, 2025
  • 801

With the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, one of the most glorious chapters of Indian cricket has closed. Legends like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja bid farewell to the shortest format after scripting a dream ending in Barbados. For the first time in more than a decade, India enters the Asia Cup without its iconic trio — and the responsibility now rests on the shoulders of the next generation.

India After the Golden Era

Kohli’s exit leaves a giant void at No. 3
Virat Kohli, the second-highest run scorer for India in T20Is, signed off with a match-winning 76 in the World Cup final against South Africa, earning the Player of the Match award. A three-time top scorer in T20 World Cups and twice the Player of the Tournament (2014, 2016), Kohli carried India’s batting for over a decade.

The responsibility now falls on Shubman Gill, who has played just 21 T20Is so far, scoring 578 runs at a strike rate of 139, including a century. He has been appointed vice-captain for the Asia Cup and must anchor the innings the way Kohli did in pressure situations.

Rohit’s captaincy mantle to Surya
Rohit Sharma, India’s most prolific T20I run scorer (4231 runs in 159 matches), retired as both a World Cup-winning captain and the format’s highest run-getter globally. His absence has opened the door for Suryakumar Yadav, who has already impressed with his leadership — 18 wins in 22 matches.

Surya, with 2598 runs at a staggering strike rate of 167, is expected to combine captaincy with his role as India’s No. 3/4 finisher. Young opener Abhishek Sharma has stepped into Rohit’s shoes at the top, already making waves with a strike rate of 193 and two centuries in 17 games.

Jadeja’s all-round brilliance to be tested
Ravindra Jadeja, India’s premier spin all-rounder and arguably the team’s best fielder, also retired after the World Cup win. Across 74 matches, he claimed 54 wickets, scored 515 runs, and turned countless games in the field.

His replacement, Axar Patel, is no stranger to pressure. With 71 wickets and 535 runs in T20Is, Axar has proved his worth, notably in the World Cup final partnership with Kohli. Yet, filling Jadeja’s shoes in fielding remains the toughest challenge.


Pakistan’s Parallel Transition

It isn’t just India undergoing change. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has rung in its own revolution by dropping stalwarts Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20 squad.

Why Babar and Rizwan were axed
Despite being Pakistan’s top two T20 run scorers (Babar: 4223 runs at SR 129, Rizwan: 3414 runs at SR 125), their low strike rates were cited by coach Mike Hesson as a barrier to Pakistan’s aggressive approach.

The new faces
Their replacements — Mohammad Haris, Hasan Nawaz, Saim Ayub, and Sahibzada Farhan — represent a bolder, more explosive brand of cricket.

Haris: 422 runs in 27 matches, SR 138

Hasan Nawaz: 417 runs in 18 matches, SR 167

Farhan: 378 runs in 19 matches, SR 132

Saim Ayub: 799 runs in 40 matches, SR 138

 

This youthful group is expected to transform Pakistan’s batting identity.

Asia Cup as a Testing Ground

For both India and Pakistan, the Asia Cup 2024 is more than a title hunt. It is a litmus test for the new generation of stars stepping into the shoes of legends. For India, the pressure is on Gill, Surya, Abhishek, and Axar to uphold the legacy of Kohli-Rohit-Jadeja. For Pakistan, it is about proving that moving beyond Babar and Rizwan was the right call.

The tournament thus becomes not only a battle for supremacy in Asia but also the first chapter of a new cricketing era on both sides of the border.