Asia Cup: Sehwag backs India as strongest contender, lauds SKY's leadership

Ignoring all the controversies regarding selection of the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 Asia Cup, the former Indian opener Virender Sehwag terms the national team superior among other participating nations.

In an interview with the Sony Sports Network – the official broadcaster, Sehwag said that the Indian side is on perfect form to win the event.

"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 win…," he said.

The Asia Cup men’s T20 tournament will be played from September 9 to 28 in UAE. India and Pakistan are likely to face each other thrice, with the first confirmed match to be played on September 14 in Dubai.

"I think we have very good side and SKY (Surya Kumar Yadav) is leading from the front and he's a top player in T20 format. I'm sure that under his captaincy, we will do well because we’ve seen in the past when he took over, we won lot of T20 games and I'm sure that we will win Asia Cup also," he added.

When asked about the importance of the upcoming Asia Cup, he added: “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. In my opinion, there is no better opportunity for the Indian team to check its strength than the Asia Cup.”

He also takes in length over the team selection, which sparked debate. "I think we have a very good T20 selector. …a very good T20 side. Under Surya Kumar Yadav, we’ve done well in T20 matches and I am sure that he'll get the best team that the selectors will give him."

On the India-Pakistan clash, Sehwag said: "I think in the entire Asia Cup, only one game feels the most important and pressure-filled to me – the India vs Pakistan match. But if we look at this current T20 team under SKY, I think they are one of the best teams.”

"Abhishek Sharma can be a game changer. Bumrah is always a game changer. Varun Chakravarthy with his mystery bowling was very effective in the Champions Trophy and in the T20 format as well. So, these are some game changers for India who can win matches on their own."