After the culmination of the five-match Test series against England, which ended earlier today (August 4) in an emphatic 2-2 draw, India’s next assignment will be the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, slated to start from September 9. Notably, the continental tournament will be played in T20 format and will serve as a dress rehearsal for the T20 World Cup 2026 next year.
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Ahead of the Asia Cup, the Men in Blue have got a big boost with short-format skipper Suryakumar Yadav returning to batting after a groin surgery in July. It is understood that the 34-year-old dynamic middle-order batter had his first batting session at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru late last week.
He was initially expected to return for the T20I series against Bangladesh in August but the tour has now been postponed to September 2026. SKY will now directly make his India return in the Asia Cup 2025 and his workload is being increased progressively, keeping in mind the timeline for the multination event.
As part of his rehabilitation, Suryakumar Yadav will also play a few practice matches and undergo simulation exercises organised in the final week of his programme at CoE.
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Suryakumar was officially named India’s T20I captain after the retirement of Rohit Sharma following the T20 World Cup 2024 success. He had however, made his captaincy debut back in 2023 in a five-match home T20I series against Australia after the ODI World Cup.
SKY has done a good job after taking over the captaincy reins and the Men in Blue have a stellar record under his leadership, winning five out of six series and drawing one. If he gets fit in time, this will be the first multi-team tournament that which Suryakumar will lead the side in.
Hosts India has been placed in Group A alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, UAE and Oman. Group B on the other hand features co-hosts Sri Lanka, with Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong China.
India will begin their campaign against UAE on September 10 while the high-octane encounter against Pakistan is set for September 14. Interestingly, there’s a chance that both teams can lock horns thrice in the tournament if they all go they way through to the final.
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