Salman Agha denies calling India Asia Cup 2025 favorites, issues ‘fast bowlers’ warning

Pakistan National Cricket Team skipper Salman Agha has denied giving the 'favorites' tag to the India National Cricket Team for the Asia Cup 2025.

Salman Agha has also issued a massive warning to the Suryakumar Yadav-led side, stating that the Pakistan speedsters will show aggression during the matches, and he would not try to stop them.

From my side, there are no restrictions - Salman Agha

After a lot of controversies, debates, and doubtfulness, the Asia Cup 2025 is finally here, and the competition starts on Tuesday, September 9, with Afghanistan taking on Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

The biggest match of the Group Stage round will take place on September 14 when the arch-rivals India and Pakistan will clash for the first time since the war-like situation unfolded between the two nations earlier in the year.

India vs Pakistan clash is expected to be filled with drama, intensity, and awkward interactions between the players, and one cannot rule out the possibility of fiery on-field exchanges.

Aggression is set to take centre stage when the arch-rivals meet on Sunday, and the Pakistan captain has given a free hand to his players to do whatever it takes to beat India, but by staying within the spirit of cricket.

"Fast bowlers are naturally aggressive, and you can’t take that away from them — that’s what drives them. Whoever wants to show that aggression on the field is free to do so, as long as it stays within the spirit of the game. From my side, there are no restrictions," Agha said at the pre-tournament press conference.

The Tri-Series was a build-up event - Salman Agha

Pakistan recently registered a stunning victory in the T20I Tri-series involving Afghanistan and the UAE. Talking about it, Agha said that they just wanted to play good cricket in the series, with the ultimate goal being acclimatizing to the UAE conditions for the Asia Cup 2025.

"The Tri-Series was a build-up event. If you won it, great. If not, it still didn’t change the fact that the real goal was to come here, play good cricket, and win the Asia Cup."

"As a team, we’re playing good cricket, and we’re really looking forward to this tournament. Everyone is very excited," Agha said.

I don’t think there’s really a favourite - Salman Agha

India National Cricket Team have won eight Asia Cup titles, including 7 in ODI format and 1 in T20I format. The Men In Blue won the last edition of the Asia Cup in 2023 by annihilating Sri Lanka in the final.

Also, Suryakumar Yadav-led India are arguably the best T20I team in the world at the moment and will enter the Asia Cup as the hot favorites to capture their 9th title. However, Salman Agha is not ready to accept the fact that the Men In Blue are favorites. He said:

"I don’t think there’s really a favourite. In T20 cricket, anything can change within an hour or two. On any given day, you just have to play good cricket."

Also Read: Shreyas Iyer ruled out of T20 World Cup 2026