New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) Legendary Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri have backed the Suryakumar Yadav-led side to shine in the 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup, which begins on Tuesday in the UAE.

The 17th edition of the Asia Cup will feature eight teams – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, UAE, Oman, and Hong Kong – vying for continental honours on their road to preparing for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

India will begin their Group A campaign against UAE on September 10, and is followed by games against Pakistan and Oman on September 14 and 19, respectively. After the league phase of the competition is over, the Super Four stage begins, with top two teams to play in the final scheduled for September 28 in Dubai.

“As Team India steps onto the Asia Cup stage under the dynamic leadership of Surya Kumar Yadav, we witness a blend of tenacity and experience steering the side. Surya’s ability to inspire through his innovative batting and captaincy complements the other members of the team.

“This squad symbolises the future of Indian cricket, diverse, versatile and combative. The Asia cup offers them a platform not just to defend India’s supremacy but to lay the foundation for a new era of Indian dominance in T20 cricket,” Gavaskar said in a statement by Sony Sports Network, the official broadcasters of the Asia Cup.

The Asia Cup will also be India’s first T20I outing since winning the home series against England by 4-1 in January. “With Surya Kumar Yadav leading from the front and Shubman Gill mastering the art of youthful leadership as vice-captain, this Indian squad exemplifies the perfect mix of experience and potential,” said Shastri, the former India all-rounder and head coach.

“Players like Jasprit Bumrah, Abhishek Sharma, and Hardik Pandya bring international class, while talents like Tilak Varma and Harshit Rana add spark and depth. The Asia Cup 2025 will be the crucible where their mettle is tested, and I believe this team, under Surya’s calm and aggressive captaincy, will rise to the occasion and set new benchmarks for Indian cricket,” said Shastri, the former India all-rounder and head coach.

Apart from Gavaskar and Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar, Robin Uthappa, Bazid Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Urooj Mumtaz, Russel Arnold, Simon Doull, Mike Haysman, and Athar Ali Khan will be the commentators for Asia Cup’s world feed, with the tournament to be streamed live on Sony LIV.

Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Ajay Jadeja, Abhishek Nayar, Vivek Razdan and Saba Karim will be on the Hindi commentary panel. WV Raman and Bharat Arun will be present in Tamil commentary feed, while Venkatapathy Raju, Venugopal Rao, Ravi Teja, and Gnaneswara Rao are on the Telugu language panel.

–IANS

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