The Asia Cup 2025 is already underway, and former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has voiced concerns about it, saying it is not competitive enough to serve as a suitable prelude to the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The 38-year-old discussed the differences in standards between India and the other players prior to India’s first match against the United Arab Emirates.
Afghanistan defeated Hong Kong by 94 runs in the opening match of the T20 Asia Cup 2025, which got underway in Abu Dhabi on September 9. Ashwin emphasised that even Afghanistan’s bowling power would not pose a threat to India in a major match, despite their impressive bat and ball performance. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, and Hong Kong are among the eight teams competing in the tournament. India was the clear favourite going into the tournament, though, having won 17 of their last 20 Twenty20 international matches since winning the World Cup in 2022.
Ashwin complained about the lack of equity on his YouTube channel. To give the competition greater significance, he recommended that either India’s youth team (India A) or perhaps a team like South Africa be added.
To make the competition competitive, they could practically include South Africa and turn it into an Afro-Asia Cup. To make it a contest, they should definitely include an India A team as it stands. We haven’t even discussed Bangladesh. as there’s nothing to discuss with them. How will these teams even be able to compete with India? On his YouTube channel, R Ashwin stated.
The tournament isn’t a significant metric for it: Ravichandran Ashwin
He added that the Asia Cup can serve as a prelude to the 2026 T20 World Cup, which India and Sri Lanka will co-host.
It is merely a curtain, not a curtain raiser for the 2026 T20 World Cup. This competition isn’t a significant benchmark for it. Who will Afghanistan use to chase this down if India bats well and scores 170+, even despite the bowlers’ alleged threat? It’s almost impossible. Restricting India to 155 on a good day and then pursuing it is the only approach to overcome them. While a Twenty20 match is always exciting, the former India spinner went on to say, “India will probably make even that one-sided in this Asia Cup.”
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