Virender Sehwag feels that the team has the right man to take it to the Asian Cup glory this year. He was extremely confident in Suryakumar Yadav and his aggressive brand of captaincy as the right fit to the requirements of T20 cricket.
Sehwag praises fearless leadership of Suryakumar Yadav
The Asia Cup will be played between September 9 and September 28 in the UAE and India is in Group A alongside Pakistan, Oman, and the UAE. Group B comprises Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong. With such aggressive thinking of Suryakumar, Sewhag feels that India can dominate the continent once again.
“This Indian team has the right mix of youth and experience, and under Surya’s fearless leadership, they can dominate Asia once again. His attacking mindset suits the T20 format perfectly, and if the team plays with the same intent, I have no doubt India can lift the trophy,” Sehwag said.
Speaking during Sony Sports Network’s ‘RagRagMeinBharat’ campaign, Sehwag added that the spirit of cricket connects fans across the country. “This campaign beautifully brings alive the heartbeat of Indian cricket. No matter which part of the country you belong to, when India plays, emotions unite us.”
India squad for Asia Cup under Suryakumar Yadav
The Indian squad to participate in the Asia Cup 2025 has 15 players with Gill being the vice-captain. Gill, who last played a T20I in July 2024, is back in the leadership team as Suryakumar Yadavs assistant. The games will be arranged in the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi and Dubai).
The appointment of Suryakumar to the captaincy is viewed as a reward of his attacking ability and his composure when making crucial decisions in a pressure situation. Most of the retired players feel that his strategy might help India to successfully defend the Asia Cup title.
Shreyas Iyer’s exclusion sparks debate
One of the largest debatable issues before the Asia Cup is the absence of Shreyas Iyer in the team. The middle order batsman who was in sizzling form was overlooked despite his good white ball record this season. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar said there were difficult decisions to make as only 15 slots were open.
Interestingly, Iyer does not even feature in the stand by list which has come as a shocker. He has also been in great touch in the recent tournaments-he was the highest run-scorer in India in the champions trophy, and he scored 604 runs in IPL 2025 with a strike rate of 175.07.
Ross Taylor highlights India’s squad depth for Asia Cup
Ross Taylor, the former New Zealand star weighed in on the omission of Iyer saying that it only goes on to show the depth India has in white-ball cricket. “I haven’t seen the side yet so can’t say. (But) when you can leave that type of quality out, you’ve got to be pretty comfortable with the depth of your squad,” Taylor remarked during a CLT10 League event.
India will kickstart their title defense against Oman on September 10 and would want to kick off with a bang. Captained by Suryakumar Yadav and with Shubman Gill as his vice-captain, the team has both potential and pressure as the expectations are high to win the Asia Cup yet again.
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