Picture Credit: X
The much-anticipated Men’s Asia Cup 2025 is scheduled to begin from Tuesday, September 9 with Afghanistan playing Hong Kong in the Group B opener in the UAE. The Indian cricket team, who will be entering as the defending champions, will kickstart their campaign against UAE on Wednesday, September 10.
Ahead of the tournament opener in Abu Dhabi, the captains of the eight teams appeared in the pre-tournament press conference. During the presser, a reporter indirectly hinting at India to be the favourites to lift their record ninth title, asked skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s perception on the same.
Kisne bola?: Surykumar Yadav’s reply on India as favourites stuns all; Pakistan captain also ends silence
The Indian skipper’s response on the same left everyone stunned as he replied, “Kisne bola (Who said)? Mene ton nahi suna.” The Mumbai batter further added, “Well, is your preparations are great then you are certainly confident when you take the field. Yes, we are playing after quite a while but we were here 3-4 days back. We had a good time as a team together. Really looking forward to this tournament.”
Furthermore, Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha was also asked to share his views and went straight up to deny the favourites tag associated with any team. He said, “In T20 cricket, I don't think so any one is favourite. At a particular day, you have to play good cricket. It's a fast-paced game. A couple of overs can change the game.”
While India will kickstart their campaign on September 10 against UAE, Pakistan will open their Asia Cup with a match against Oman on September 12. The high-octane India versus Pakistan match is scheduled for September 14, which will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
