India are the team to beat in the Asia Cup 2025 as there stands a major gulf between them and the rest of the competition. They have lost just one T20I series in the last two years and have been in a butcher mode in the format.
There have been 759 days since that happened. 759 days since someone defeated India in a T20I series. It’s more than two years if you calculate. Who were the last to do it?
West Indies.
The Windies had done it at home in a five-match series 3-2. But a lot has changed for India since then.
A few years back, India were considered a team playing the T20Is with an old template. The template that teams like England, Australia, and the West Indies had thrown away several years back. Think of the T20 World Cup 2021 and 2022, when their batting approach was scrutinised at every corner of the world. But not now.
They have turned into a batting beast with players gunning to blunt the bowlers right from the word go. 7 of their 12 totals of 225 or more have come after the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Only five came in the 16 years before, and seven now in less than three years. The stat speaks for the volume India have come their way into this format.
The shift, moreover, took place after the World Cup 2024, with Suryakumar Yadav leading a fearless team that has a no-holds-barred approach. Since then, they have hit a 297/6, a 283/1, a 247/5, and some 234/4, 221/9, and 219/6 in between. They bat like there is no fourth gear and it’s only the fifth.
Talking about the time period from India’s last T20I series defeat to the Windies in August 2023, no other team comes close to their win/loss ratio of 7. India have won 37 of the 43 matches they have played since 14th August 2023, the next day of their 2-3 loss to the Windies. They have lost just five matches with one no-result game. Just five losses.
The next best win/loss ratio belongs to Uganda, whose ratio stands at 5.125 with 41 wins in their 49 matches. Coming to the teams present in the Asia Cup, UAE are next with a ratio of 1.681 with 37 wins in 59 matches. Same wins as that of India but after taking 16 more matches.
Pakistan have a poor 0.807 ratio with 21 wins in 44 matches. Afghanistan’s ratio read 1.416 (17 wins from 31 matches), Sri Lanka’s 0.933 (14 wins in 30 matches) and Bangladesh’s 1.047 (22 wins in 45 matches).
A huge gulf between India and others as clear as anything can get.
India are also the top-ranked T20I team in the world, with the next best Asian team at seventh: Pakistan. Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh follow and wrap the top 10. Another huge gulf.
Can anyone beat India?
India look the most complete and strongest outfit, but in sport, there is always a chance of magic happening. The minimal time period the T20I format offers makes it even more likely for a team to beat anyone in the world. Nothing can rule out the possibility of India missing out on the Asia Cup or even the finals, like they did in 2022 when Sri Lanka beat Pakistan.
Pakistan are coming into the tournament on the high of winning the tri-series against Afghanistan and the UAE. They have the likes of Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Saim Ayub and Salman Aghha. Haris Rauf is looking at his best despite Shaheen Shah Afridi looking toothless. They have the firepower.
Afghanistan are no pushovers now. The likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sadiqullah Atal and Ibrahim Zadran are stars with the bat. Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Fazalhaq Farooqi offer brilliance with the ball. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are not consistent much.
It would take some doing for the teams to beat India. If India play like what they are on paper, they will be unstoppable. With all respect to the opponents, there is a huge gulf between India and the rest of the pack, with all miles behind them. The Asia Cup kicks off in the Gulf, and India are already the team to beat.
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