The former coach of India says that the Asian Cup is “the Tournament of India to lose”

Former India cricket team assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has backed the Men in Blue to easily win the ongoing Asia Cup 2025. Suryakumar Yadav and co. started off their campaign on a high note where they handed a 9-wicket thrashing to UAE. Nayar claimed that India were functioning pretty well across departments and that losing Asia Cup would mean something is wrong.

Nayar fires warning to Gambhir, SKY

Speaking on Sony Sports, Nayar said that with the kind of squad that India had and the way spinners were performing, the tournament was for India to lose. The ex-India coach claimed that winning the championship was very easy when the bowlers were doing well.

“I won’t call them contenders, they are coming after becoming champions. The kind of squad they have and the way they are playing in this format, this tournament is for them to lose. If they don’t win this tournament, there is something that’s gone wrong,” Nayar said on being asked about India’s strengths ahead of IND vs PAK tie.

Speaking on the high-octane IND vs PAK match which will take place on September 14, Nayar opined that India would have been better prepared for the Pakistan clash if the tie against UAE was challenging. The ex-India coach noted that captain SKY and coach Gambhir, however, approached the game with the intention to finish as early as possible.

“So, as a precursor, would you have wanted to understand the conditions? However, Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir had the thought process of playing to win and finishing the match as early as they could. So, a little too easy. A little challenge would have been good because I always believe preparation is only when it’s hard,” Nayar observed.