India's World Cup-winning captain <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/kapil-dev-backs-shubman-gill-give-shubman-time-grow-captain-23586640" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Kapil Dev</a> urged the Men in Blue to remain focussed on their performance and avoid distractions from outside noise days ahead of their high-voltage Asia Cup 2025 clash against arch-rivals Pakistan.
"The Indian players should stay focused solely on the game. They have a good team and must win," he said.
India are set to face <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/asia-cup-2025-ticket-sales-still-on-for-india-pakistan-match-organisers-cite-rohit-sharma-virat-kohli-absence-as-potential-reason-23593501" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Pakistan</a> on September 14 at the Dubai International Stadium in what is expected to be one of the marquee encounters of the tournament. However, the match has not been without controversy. In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir, several fans voiced strong opposition to the fixture, urging authorities to cancel the game.
Despite public backlash, the Indian government has upheld its long-standing policy of refraining from bilateral sporting engagements with Pakistan. However, the policy permits Indian teams to participate in multilateral tournaments, such as the Asia Cup, even if it involves facing Pakistan.
Weighing in on the issue, Kapil said that players must stay committed to their roles and leave political matters to the authorities.
"Players should concentrate only on their performance and not get distracted by anything else. Just go and win. The government will do its job, and the players should do theirs," said the 66-year-old.
Team India, led by <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/asia-cup-2025-aakash-chopra-opens-up-on-suryakumar-yadav-withdrawal-against-uae-23593506" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Suryakumar Yadav</a>, kicked off their Asia Cup 2025 campaign with a convincing win over the UAE. Kapil Dev praised the team&rsquo;s performance and expressed optimism about their chances in the tournament.
"It's a good team, good luck, they won well yesterday. I hope they win the trophy too," he added.
India's squad for the Asia Cup 2025: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Pakistan's Squad for the Asia Cup 2025: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufyan Moqim.
(With PTI Inputs)

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India are set to face Pakistan on September 14 at the Dubai International Stadium in what is expected to be one of the marquee encounters of the tournament. However, the match has not been without controversy

Asia Cup 2025: Kapil Dev advises Indian players to tune out the noise ahead of Pak showdown

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