Former India player turned coach Abhishek Nayar has said that the Indian team are not just a contender but a heavy favourite to win the Asia Cup 2025 as well. He also stated that things need to go wrong for them not to lift the trophy as well. India beat the UAE by nine wickets in their Asia Cup 2025 opener in Dubai on Wednesday, September 10 as well. However, they will take on Pakistan in their second Group A game at the same venue on Sunday, September 14.

During a discussion on Sony Sports, Nayar said, “I won’t call them contenders, they are coming after becoming champions. The kind of squad they have and the way they are playing in this format, this tournament is for them to lose. If they don’t win this tournament, there is something that’s gone wrong. The squad strength we have and the way our spinners bowled in the last match, I will always believe that if you are bowling well, winning the championship becomes easy. So it’s India’s tournament to lose.”

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While talking about Team India’s win against the UAE, Abhishek Nayar wondered whether Suryakumar Yadav could have opted to bat first as well.

“You were expecting India to win easily, but probably not this easily. There was a thought process about whether you could have bowled in tougher conditions, whether you could have batted first, just as an experiment, because you will be playing against Pakistan on the 14th. So, as a precursor, would you have wanted to understand the conditions? However, Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir had the thought process of playing to win and finishing the match as early as they could. So, a little too easy. A little challenge would have been good because I always believe preparation is only when it’s hard,” Abhishek Nayar concluded.