Virender Sehwag endorses THIS player as key for India in Asia Cup

Former India opener Virender Sehwag on Friday expressed strong confidence in team India’s chances at the upcoming men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025, backing captain Suryakumar Yadav to lead the side to success in the UAE.

Speaking to Indian media, Sehwag said the squad has the perfect mix of youth and experience, making them one of the strongest contenders for the title.

“This Indian team has the right mix of youth and experience and under Surya’s fearless leadership, they can dominate Asia once again," he said. 

He also emphasised that Suryakumar’s fearless and aggressive style of leadership aligns perfectly with the demands of T20 cricket.

"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 added.

For the unversed, the 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 was announced last week, with Suryakumar Yadav retained as captain and Shubman Gill returning as vice-captain of the T20I side.

It is pertinent to mention that the eight-team tournament will commence on September 9 with the opening match between Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

The competition features eight teams divided into two groups. Group A includes arch-rivals Pakistan and India, along with 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 encounter 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 (captain), Shubman Gill (vice captain), 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.