Sehwag Foresees India Maintaining Momentum in Asia Cup 2025

Former Indian opening batsman Virender Sehwag has voiced his strong belief in the Indian team’s prospects for the Asia Cup 2025, which will be hosted in the UAE.

In an exclusive discussion with a local Indian sports outlet, Sehwag emphasized India’s recent achievements in global cricket, including securing victories in both the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy. He anticipates the squad will sustain this high level of performance into the upcoming continental tournament.

“We stand as the current world champions. Having recently triumphed in the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy, I am confident that we are the frontrunners in the Asia Cup and hopefully, we will emerge victorious,” Sehwag commented.

Sehwag attributed his optimistic outlook to Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership as captain. Celebrated for his dynamic batting style and growing leadership skills, Yadav has already steered India to several wins in the T20 format.

“SKY is setting an example from the forefront and is a premier player in the T20 arena. With him at the helm, we have already clinched numerous T20 victories, and I firmly believe we will also secure the Asia Cup title,” he added.

Sehwag also highlighted the Asia Cup’s significance as a preparatory phase for the 2026 T20 World Cup, deeming it an ideal setting to assess India’s reserve talent.

“This Asia Cup presents an excellent opportunity to gear up for the 2026 T20 World Cup. It allows us to evaluate emerging players and develop a robust team. There is no superior platform to gauge India’s squad depth,” he stated.

Acknowledging the selectors for assembling a well-rounded team, Sehwag concluded that India possesses a strong likelihood of winning the championship.

“We have a formidable T20 team. Under Surya Kumar Yadav’s guidance, we have performed admirably, and I trust that the selectors have chosen the most capable team. Hopefully, we will claim the Asia Cup this time,” he concluded.

The approaching Asia Cup represents India’s first T20I commitment following their home series against England in January. The eight-team competition will begin on September 9, with the inaugural match featuring Afghanistan against Hong Kong.

Group A comprises rivals Pakistan and India, alongside UAE and Oman, whereas Group B includes Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong.

India is scheduled to commence their campaign against UAE in Dubai on September 10, followed by a highly anticipated showdown 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