As the continental tournament kicks off on September 9 in Dubai, India will look to lean on this mix of proven winners and new leaders while keeping uncompromising fitness standards at the heart of their preparations.
This was India's third victory in a row against Pakistan and their 11th victory overall against the arch-rivals in 14 T20 matches.
Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah overtook Bhuvneshwar Kumar to become team's fourth-highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket.
ri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka smashed a belligerent century as Indian bowlers endured their worst day in the Asia Cup before Arshdeep Singh produced a brilliant 'Super Over' to win the game for his side in Dubai on Friday.
Indian spinner Ravi Bishnoi and left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh moved up to the sixth and 10th spot respectively in the latest ICC T20 rankings released on Wednesday.
After days of off-field drama, Team India was back on the field in Dubai at the ICC Academy, sharpening their skills ahead of the final Group A clash against Oman.
Legion of fans in Vadodara welcomed the star all-rounder Hardik Pandya, a key component in India's T20 World Cup triumph.
'Pretty amazing. The whole tournament, we remained unbeaten, it feels pretty amazing to be in this position.'
Matthew Sandery, head curator at the Dubai international stadium, was spotted near Gautam Gambhir and Sitanshu Kotak, but did not ask them to keep away. Incidentally, the BCCI, being the hosts, can even suggest the kind of wicket they would need for the match.
A dominant India beat Pakistan by seven wickets with 25 balls to spare in the Asia Cup matchg in Dubai on Sunday.
That is the level of trust we have in each other.'
This brings us to the question of combination and perhaps Arshdeep could miss out on more games going into the T20 World Cup -- a tournament that will be held in the sub-continent -- India and Sri Lanka.
The tournament had been fraught with tension from the very start, and the animosity carried into the final, which India won by five wickets on a rather long Sunday night.
Ashwin wants this "unexpected hero" to surprise against Pakistan during Asia Cup
Earlier, warm-up routines had players darting through shuttle runs and high knees before bats were unsheathed.
Abhishek Sharma was brutal and beautiful in equal measure during his scintillating 74 as India made a tricky chase look comfortable, winning an ill-tempered Super 4 contest of the Asia Cup against Pakistan by six wickets in Dubai on Sunday.
AB de Villiers believes a lot of experienced Mumbai Indians players don't buy into Hardik Pandya's style of captaincy.
Pat Cummins captured the sentiment perfectly, calling this potentially the 'last chance' for fans Down Under to witness these legends in action. With both stalwarts set to be 39 and 40 respectively by the 2027 World Cup, every appearance carries added significance. Ro-Ko have been the heartbeat of Indian cricket for over 15 years. Their return brings an emotional lift to the team and raises expectations for the series against the world champions.
As India marches toward the Asia Cup final, one thing is crystal clear -- Abhishek Sharma isn't just participating in this tournament; he's redefining it.
Shubman Gill is the flavour of the season after his stupendous show in the recent Test series against England but he will face a contender in Axar Patel for vice-captaincy
Mystery spinner Varun Charkravarthy on Wednesday rose to the top spot in ICC's T20 International Bowlers' Rankings for the first time
Very emotional after the last six months: Hardik Pandya after India's T20 WC win
Will Shubman Gill force either Sanju Samson or Tilak Varma out of the playing XI for the Asia Cup opening match against the UAE?
Since he took over, head coach Gautam Gambhir has stressed on multi-skilled players across formats, especially those who can add batting depth.
Virat Kohli is yet to arrive in Bengaluru and it is not clear when he will undergo the mandatory fitness test ahead of the new season.
Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya has been fined Rs 12 lakhs for his team maintaining a slow over rate during their thrilling nine-run victory over Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League.
The team management now has a tricky call on hand while deciding whether to keep Samson in the playing XI finding a slot for him in top three or play Jitesh Sharma
CSK have a man behind stumps telling them what's working: Hardik Pandya pats MS Dhoni
According to Samaa TV, the Pakistan management claimed the TV umpire did not examine all available angles before announcing its decision. Pakistan's protest emphasised how the evidence was not "clear and conclusive" to justify ruling Fakhar out, and the umpire's call favoured the fielding side despite replays showing a margin of uncertainty.
The just-concluded Asia Cup was deeply saturated with off-field drama. But even amidst the bedlam, there were sparks of brilliance, emergence of new stars and tears of failure.
India defeated a spirited Oman in their final Group A match by 21 runs with Rana and Arshdeep giving away plenty of runs while taking a wicket each at the back end of the game.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of Asia Cup 2025.
India enjoy a dominant 9-3 win loss record against Pakistan in T20 Internationals, including a 7-1 margin in T20 World Cups.
Vaibhav, 37, was arrested on April 8 on the charges of criminal breach of trust, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy, forgery and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly cheating the cricketer brothers to the tune of more than Rs 4 crore.
It's just two games into the tournament but Hardik Pandya already seems to have loads to worry about in his second stint with Mumbai Indians, the leadership part not quite falling in place thus far.
UAE captain Muhammad Waseem said they won't treat the opening match against T20 World champions India as a big game and will look to play normally.
Ishan Kishan, who has been out of action since his return from India's tour of South Africa, was seen sweating it out in the gym.
Pandya has taken over MI captaincy from Rohit Sharma this season upon his return from Gujarat Titans and the whole saga of change of leadership has not gone down well with the fans.
Defending champions India had a full-fledged practice session at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Friday as they put the finishing touches to their Asia Cup preparations.
