India has good advantage to win Asia Cup, but needs to maintain and live up to expectations, says Nilesh Kulkarni

New Delhi, Sep 13 Former India cricketer Nilesh Kulkarni believes the Suryakumar Yadav-led side holds a strong advantage to win the ongoing 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup, but added that the team must sustain their form and live up to the expectations from them to clinch the silverware.

India started their Asia Cup campaign with a commanding nine-wicket win over the UAE earlier this week, and are set to face arch-rivals Pakistan in a crucial Group A match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. After facing Oman in Abu Dhabi on September 19, India will have to steer through the Super Four stage to have a chance at playing the title clash in Dubai on September 28.

“I think India is one of the strongest contenders in holding this trophy again, regaining and retaining this trophy. But obviously, T20 as a format is very dynamic on that particular day, in that particular moment, with no time for you to repeat your mistake.”

“I think India has a good advantage, but India needs to maintain and live up to the expectations of what India currently has,” said Kulkarni in a conversation with IANS on the sidelines of the PlayCom 2025 summit on Saturday.

Kulkarni, the former left-arm spinner who played three Tests and 10 ODIs for India, feels the BCCI needs to be lauded for having a structure in place, which in turn has led to the creation of a good pool of players to select all three international teams.

“I think the beauty of Indian cricket is that the way BCCI created a structure, of every talent getting an opportunity right from school tournaments up to the junior level tournaments to the state level championships, and then representing internationally.”

“Along with creating a product like IPL, I think India has created phenomenal talent pathways for the talent pool to showcase that talent repetitively. So, in spite of a few failures, they still get more opportunities to showcase their talent and then aspire to play for India,” he said.

He signed off by lauding IPL’s gigantic impact on every aspect of the Indian cricket ecosystem. “Absolutely, I think IPL is remarkable in creating this particular platform for everybody. Not only in playing and showcasing their talent, but financially getting more stability and more comfort, you start thinking about what all you can offer more and put in more. So, outstanding and great effort by BCCI in introducing IPL and creating these opportunities.”

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