Asia Cup 2025: Bazid Khan Targets Suryakumar Yadav’s Poor Record vs Pakistan
The Asia Cup 2025 is just two weeks away, but excitement for the high-voltage India vs Pakistan clash on September 14 in Dubai has already reached its peak. Ahead of the blockbuster encounter, former Pakistan cricketer Bazid Khan has raised concerns over India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav’s poor record against Pakistan, pointing out that it could play in Pakistan’s favor.
Suryakumar Yadav’s Struggles Against Pakistan
So far, Suryakumar Yadav has played five T20Is against Pakistan, managing only 64 runs at an average of 12.80 and a strike rate of 118.50. His highest score against the arch-rivals is just 18 runs.
Bazid Khan admitted he couldn’t explain the exact reason for Suryakumar’s lack of success, but he stressed that the record might boost Salman Ali Agha’s Pakistan side in the crucial group-stage clash.
“Suryakumar scores runs against almost everyone, but somehow against Pakistan, he hasn’t been effective. Whether it is the pace attack or some other reason, it remains an issue,” Bazid Khan said on the show Game On Hai.
SKY’s Current Form is Impressive
Despite his struggles against Pakistan, Suryakumar Yadav enters Asia Cup 2025 in red-hot form. He scored over 700 runs in IPL 2025 for Mumbai Indians, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament.
India Will Miss Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja
This will be India’s first major T20 tournament without Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja, who all retired from T20Is after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup triumph.
Bazid Khan believes the absence of these legends will be felt, especially Jadeja.
“All three are world-class. The intensity Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma brought to the game is something India will miss. The absence of Ravindra Jadeja is also a big issue. Axar Patel is there, but Jadeja was exceptional in fielding as well,” Bazid explained.
India’s Asia Cup 2025 Squad
India announced their Asia Cup 2025 squad last week with Shubman Gill named as vice-captain. Notably, Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal missed out despite strong IPL campaigns.
| India Squad (2025 Asia Cup) |
|---|
| Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh |
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel.
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