Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has said that the 2025 Asia Cup presents Afghanistan with a great opportunity to win a big title. While stating that Afghanistan performed well in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup, he also added that they are yet to win a major tournament like the Asia Cup as well. Notably, the 2025 Asia Cup is slated to begin with a Group B clash between Afghanistan and Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi on September 9 as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “They are the bridesmaid and not the bride thus far. They are a team that cannot be taken lightly. You respect them and praise them a lot, but they haven’t won enough titles. You have never won the Asia Cup. You reached the T20 World Cup semi-final and did well in the ODI World Cup as well, which is great, but it’s a massive opportunity to reach till the title.”
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“Then what about their youngsters as well, if they get a chance. One is Sediqullah Atal, who has already been seen playing. Then there is Darwish Rasooli and Allah Ghazanfar. So they do have a few youngsters for whom this is a massive opportunity. If you do well here, IPL is calling,” he shared.
However, Aakash Chopra noted that although Afghanistan do not have a glaring weakness heading into the 2025 Asia Cup, their finishing could be a potential shortcoming.
“They don’t have too many weaknesses. It’s not like there is a glaring weakness. One weakness is seen at times. They probably don’t have enough striking power towards the latter half, that too sometimes. There is a consistency issue at times in terms of hitting. The firepower gets tested a little at times. They won’t finish well every day,” he said.
“Secondly, as good as their spin is, the fast bowling is slightly 50-50, although they have Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi. Karim Janat also bowls a little. They have the bowling, but it seems pale in front of spin. Once in a while, you can put them under pressure, and they crumble under pressure at times. One doesn’t see as much class in fast bowling as is seen in spin,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
