Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag feels that the side led by Suryakumar Yadav can very well go on to win the Asia Cup. This statement comes just two weeks before the continental tournament which will begin from September 9. Notably, the Men in Blue have won the competition a record eight times so they will definitely be one of the favourites to lift the trophy once again.
Sehwag went on to claim that India is the best team of the Asia Cup and cited the team's dominance in recent international tournaments to justify his statement.
“We are world champions. We just won the World Cup, T20 World Cup and I am sure that we are the best team in the Asia Cup and hopefully we will win the Asia Cup," Sehwag was quoted as saying to the Sony Sports Network.
Sehwag also showed faith in captain Suryakumar Yadav as under his leadership, India have won their previous four T20I series. If the Men in Blue do go on to win the Asia Cup, then it will be Suryakumar's first major international trophy triumph as the skipper.
“I think we have very good side and SKY is leading from the front and he’s a top player in T20 format. I’m sure that under his captaincy, we will do well because we’ve seen in the past when SKY has taken over, we won lot of T20 games and I’m sure that we will win Asia Cup also," Sehwag stated.
Further on, Sehwag highlighted that the Asia Cup will be a great opportunity for Team India to prepare for the 2026 T20 World Cup. The former batter feels that the upcoming tournament will help the selectors in identifying the players who can be included for future assignments in the shortest format.
“I think in the T20 format, this Asia Cup can serve as a great preparation for our 2026 T20 World Cup. It’s an opportunity to see which new players should be given chances and who can be included in the squad. You can start building a team for the World Cup. In my opinion, there is no better opportunity for the Indian team to check its strength than the Asia Cup," Sehwag further stated.
India's Asia Cup schedule
Meanwhile, India will begin their Asia Cup campaign with the clash against UAE on September 10 before locking horns against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 10. Their group stage will reach a conclusion with the match against Oman on September 19.