Aakash Chopra predicts Team India star to win Player of the Tournament at 2025 Asia Cup [Watch]

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has shared his predictions for the 2025 Asia Cup, including the winners, runners-up, and standout performers. The multi-nation event begins on September 9, with hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) placed in Group A alongside defending champions India, Pakistan, and Oman. Group B comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong.

In a YouTube Shorts video (@crex_community), Aakash Chopra backed India to lift the 2025 Asia Cup, tipping Afghanistan as the runners-up.

The 47-year-old predicted India opener Abhishek Sharma to finish as the tournament’s highest run-scorer, while spinner Varun Chakaravarthy was his pick for the leading wicket-taker. For the Player of the Tournament, Chopra went with star all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

Watch the video here:

This will be only the third edition of the Asia Cup to be contested in the T20 format. The first was held in 2016, when India lifted the trophy under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. The second came in 2022, with Sri Lanka defeating Pakistan to secure the title under Dasun Shanaka’s leadership.

India’s roadmap for Asia Cup 2025: Full squad and match schedule

Defending champions India will begin their 2025 Asia Cup campaign against hosts UAE on Wednesday, September 10, in Dubai. Their second fixture will be the high-voltage clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, September 14, also in Dubai. Suryakumar Yadav’s men will then wrap up their group-stage matches with a contest against Oman on Friday, September 19, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, looking at the squad, Shubman Gill has been named deputy to Suryakumar. Jasprit Bumrah also returns to T20Is for the first time since the 2024 T20 World Cup, where he was named Player of the Tournament.

The Men in Blue’s squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, and Rinku Singh.

Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel.

About the author

Dev Sharma is a cricket journalist at Sportskeeda with over three years of experience. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has previously worked at Times Now as a sports writer.

His degree has empowered him with a good understanding of ethics in journalism and effective interviewing techniques, which he employs in his articles. He researches and verifies facts from multiple sources and remains impartial in his viewpoints. He has had the privilege of interviewing renowned sports journalist Vijay Lokapally.

Dev loves cricket because of its ability to keep spectators on the edge of their seats and its ability to foster a sense of community and shared passion. He is a staunch supporter of the Indian cricket team and his favorite cricketer is Yuvraj Singh, especially after he hit those iconic six sixes in an over in 2007. He also admires Rohit Sharma’s leadership as he led Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles and Team India to the T20 World Cup.

When he’s not working, Dev enjoys watching football or catching up on his sleep.

Know More

Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news

Edited by Dev Sharma