Asia Cup offers India a good opportunity to prepare for T20 World Cup, says Sehwag

Veteran opener Virender Sehwag has stated that the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 will provide a golden opportunity for the Indian management to build a team for the next year’s T20 World Cup.

India will head into the tournament as defending champions, though this time with a fresh-looking side under a new captain and head coach.

This time, the continental tournament will be played in a T20 format to serve as a preparatory ground for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

The All India Selection Committee has already announced the 15-member squad for the multi-nation tournament, with Suryakumar Yadav leading the side and Shubman Gill reinstated as his deputy after he missed the last couple of T20I series.

There were also a few notable omissions as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna failed to make the cut despite an impressive IPL last season.

Sehwag believes the upcoming Asia Cup will be an ideal platform for India to prepare for the 2026 T20 World Cup. He said that the tournament offers a chance to test fresh talent, identify potential squad members, and begin shaping a team for the global event.

“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,” Sehwag said on Sony Sports Network.

The veteran batter said it would be the best chance for Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar to analyse their strength and prepare accordingly for the future from thereon.

“In my opinion, there is no better opportunity for the Indian team to check its strength than the Asia Cup,” he added.

Pace ace Jasprit Bumrah returned to the T20 squad after sitting out two games in England for workload management.

His previous T20 appearance came in India’s World Cup triumph against South Africa at Barbados in June 2024. Sehwag also said that the Suryakumar-led defending champions are the ‘best team’ in the eight-nation Asia Cup and backed them to retain their title.

“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 emerge as winners,” Sehwag added.

Silencing all the critics and doubters over the squad selection for the tournament, Sehwag said, “I think we have a very good T20 selector. I think we have a very good T20 side. Under Suryakumar, we’ve done well in T20 matches and I am sure that he’ll get the best team that the selectors will give him, and hopefully we will win the Asia Cup this time.”

Meanwhile, India’s T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav has declared himself fit after weeks of rehab at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, confirming his readiness to lead the side at the Asia Cup.

He reflected on his recovery phase after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia in his lower right abdomen.

The 34-year-old batter detailed his recovery process in the massive newly-built facility in Bengaluru. “I’m feeling good. Good process and routine for the last six weeks and fingers crossed. Feeling really well,” Suryakumar said in a video posted by the BCCI.

The Mumbai batter said the injury was diagnosed at the fag end of the IPL earlier this year and he knew the road to recovery would take time.

“It actually got diagnosed close to the end of the IPL. I felt it because I had a similar kind of injury last year as well. That’s how I got to know. Few checklists were there, and I tried those things, and then I realised it’s time to go and do an MRI.

“I did it and it (injury) was very clear in that. I did it post IPL, went to Germany. It went really well. I knew how the recovery is going to be step-by-step. I was prepared for everything. We took one week at a time, and we’re here. I’m feeling good,” he said.

Lauding the trainers and coaches at the facility, Suryakumar expressed gratitude to the people who helped him in the rehabilitation.

“I think the most important thing for me is that they understand how my body reacts to certain situations.”

Agencies