Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar discussed the Indian team squad for the Asia Cup 2025 tournament ahead of their first game against the UAE on September 10, 2025. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the Men in Blue, while Shubman Gill has been named the vice-captain of the team.
Regulars like Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Rinku Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav were picked. Jitesh Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, along with Harshit Rana, were also chosen.
Shoaib Akhtar talked about the Indian squad while discussing their opening match against the UAE in Dubai and stated that India will beat the UAE by batting first and putting up a huge total on the board.
However, when the ex-Pakistan bowler was asked to examine the Indian squad, he struggled to find the right words. Akhtar was astounded by the sheer talent and match-winners on the 15-man roster, but it was how he described the Indian squad that astonished everyone.
"Achha, Abhishek bhi aa gaya? Bumrah bhi hai? Sanju Samson bhi hai, finally. Tilak bhi. Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Rinku Singh bhi hai, Shubman hai, Surya hai, Shivam Dube, apna Axar Patel. Yaar, yeh kis ko baahar bithaayenge? (Who do they leave out?),” Akhtar said on the show Game On Hai.
Misbah, who believes the team has the batting depth based on their performance in last week's tri-series, still gave the UAE team a chance to pull off an upset.
Akhtar flatly refused, pointing out that the only bright spot for India's opposition UAE, in tonight's match is if they don't lose badly to the reigning T20 world champions.
"See, we know they are going to lose. I just feel that losing by a small margin would be a win for the UAE. This is my complaint against Hong Kong, which lost by 94 runs to Afghanistan last evening. You had to lose, at least lose close. So that you get something. Show some fight,” Akhtar added.
Pakistan's first match of the 2025 Asia Cup is on Friday against Oman, followed by the much-awaited blockbuster clash against India on Sunday.
