Dubai [UAE], September 10 : Ahead of the Asia Cup 2025 opener against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday, India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav stated that his team must "conquer" Asia before facing the world's best teams in the sport's shortest format.
India has been earmarked as the clear favourite to lift the Asia Cup trophy on paper by fans and former cricketers. The 15-player squad covers all facets of the game and provides the much-needed firepower across the batting and bowling departments.
India will kick off their campaign against the UAE on September 10, while the high-voltage game against Pakistan is scheduled for September 14, with both fixtures set to be played in Dubai. India will play their final group stage fixture against Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking on the Asia Cup 2025, Suryakumar said in the video posted by the Indian Cricket Team on Instagram, "It was a long off, but I am back. Before we take on the world, let's conquer Asia first."
After the conclusion of the 18th season of the IPL in June this year, a couple of weeks later, Suryakumar confirmed that he had undergone successful sports hernia surgery in Munich, Germany. After returning to India, he continued his rehab at the CoE, and after weeks of hard work, the 34-year-old revealed that he is "feeling good".
So far in the history of the Asia Cup, the Men in Blue have managed to lift the title on eight occasions (1984, 1988, 1990-91,1995, 2010, 2016, 2018 and 2023).
Expressing views on winning the Asia Cup titles, Team India vice-captain, Shubman Gill, said, "Eight times, to be precise."
In the 2025 edition of the Asia Cup, the Indian Cricket Team will face opponents like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, UAE, Oman, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka in the competition in order to clinch the Asia Cup title once again.
Left-hand batter Tilak Varma feels that no can be taken lightly in this tournament. "Not taking any opponent likely," Tilak Varma said further in the video.
Team India squad for Asia Cup: 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.
Reserve players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.