Former India star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has named two Pakistan young batters and one spinner who can turn out as stand out performers in the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 clash in Dubai.’
Speaking on his YouTube channel during a pre-match analysis, Ashwin highlighted two Pakistan batters he is keen to follow closely.
“From Pakistan’s side, the two players I’m most excited to watch are Mohammad Haris and Saim Ayub. I want to see how they handle the Indian bowling attack. If both of them bat well, then Pakistan will have a decent chance,” Ashwin remarked.
“As for an hero from Pakistan, it could be Sufiyan Muqeem. He didn’t bowl that well in the last game and he’s a bit inconsistent, which makes things tricky in T20 cricket. But I’m curious to see how Pakistan grooms him and how he approaches the game, so I’ll be watching closely to see how he performs,” he added.
Both teams head into the contest high on confidence after commanding victories in their opening matches.
India bowled out hosts UAE for just 57 before chasing the target in only 4.3 overs. Pakistan, meanwhile, posted 160-7 and then bundled Oman out for 67 inside 17 overs.
Out of 13 encounters, India have won 10, while Pakistan have managed just three victories.
Their most recent meeting came at the 2024 T20 World Cup in New York, where Rohit Sharma’s side edged Babar Azam’s men in a low-scoring thriller.
Pakistan squad for Asia Cup 2025: Salman Agha (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem.
India squad for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
