Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has expressed strong confidence in Team India’s chances ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, set to take place in the UAE.
In an exclusive interaction with a local Indian sports platform, Sehwag highlighted India’s recent dominance in world cricket, having won both the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy, and predicted that the team would carry the same momentum into the continental event.
“We are the reigning world champions. We just won the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy, and I am sure that we are the best team in the Asia Cup and hopefully we will win it too,” Sehwag stated.
The former opener credited Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy as a major factor behind his optimism. Known for his aggressive batting and leadership growth, Yadav has already guided India to several T20 victories.
“SKY is leading from the front and he’s a top player in the T20 format. Under his captaincy, we’ve already won a lot of T20 games, and I’m sure we will win the Asia Cup also,” he said.
Sehwag also emphasised the Asia Cup’s importance as preparation for the 2026 T20 World Cup, calling it an ideal stage to test India’s bench strength.
“This Asia Cup can serve as great preparation for the 2026 T20 World Cup. It’s an opportunity to test new players and start building a strong squad. There is no better platform to check India’s depth,” he said.
Praising the selectors for assembling a balanced side, Sehwag concluded that India has every chance of clinching the title.
“We have a very good T20 side. Under Surya Kumar Yadav, we’ve done well, and I am sure the selectors have picked the best possible team. Hopefully, this time, we will lift the Asia Cup,” he concluded.
The upcoming Asia Cup marks India’s first T20I assignment since their home series against England in January. The eight-team tournament will commence on September 9 with the opening match between Afghanistan and Hong Kong.
Group A includes arch-rivals Pakistan and India, alongside UAE and Oman, while Group B consists of Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong.
India will kick off their campaign against UAE in Dubai on September 10, followed by a much-anticipated clash with Pakistan on September 14, before concluding the group stage against Oman in Abu Dhabi on September 19.
India’s squad for the Asia Cup:
Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vc), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube , Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy , Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson
Reserve players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal
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