Asia Cup 2025 is finally underway and all eyes are on Suryakumar Yadav-led India, who are slated to kick off their campaign against United Arab Emirates (UAE) on September 10, Wednesday.
Suryakumar Yadav on captaincy burden in Asia Cup
Sryakumar will take on the role of captain for the first time in a multi-nation tournament as he leads the Indian team in the Asia Cup 2025. This will be a significant test for the star batter. With the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on the horizon, the T20 Asia Cup 2025 presents Suryakumar with his first major opportunity to demonstrate his leadership abilities. He will have to manage pressure, rotate the squad, and handle the complexities of a multi-team environment. When asked about the additional challenges of leading the team in a high-stakes competition versus a bilateral series, The 34-year-old responded in his characteristic witty manner.
“Till now everything is going alright sir, toh kyu bina matlab ka ungli karna hai? (Why unnecessarily meddle?) We will continue to do and follow the same things we have done in all of the bilaterals so far. If some things are working, that means we are moving in the right direction," Suryakumar said at the captains’ press conference ahead of the Asia Cup.
The Mumbaikar has had a remarkable tenure as India's permanent T20I captain. Under his leadership, the team has lost only two of 15 matches, starting with series victories against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and a 3-1 series win in South Africa.
The 34-year-old captain also expressed his amusement at the idea that India were "runaway favourites" to win the Asia Cup. "Who told you this? I did not hear this," Suryakumar said with a smile. "Yes, we are playing T20 cricket as a team after quite some time, but we were here early."
India's first group-stage match is against UAE, marking their first white-ball game since the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final in March. This match against the UAE will give the team's management a chance to test different player combinations before their highly anticipated clash against Pakistan on September 14. India will play their last Group stage match against Oman on September 19.
India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel