IND vs PAK: Ashwin feels THIS "unexpected hero" comes as surprise for India

Ahead of the high-voltage Asia Cup 2025 match against Pakistan, former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin is hopeful that an unexpected hero comes from Team India in the form of Arshdeep Singh.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin heaped praise on Team India by saying that the side is amazing from top to bottom.

“I dont think there are many options of someone who can surprise from India. All of them have performed well and the team is amazing top to bottom. An unexpected hero can be Tilak Varma. Because he has not had an opportunity to bat, and no one knows when it will come. But I hope that unexpected hero comes from the bench, that is Arshdeep Singh. Because everyone thinks he might not play,” he said.

Arshdeep Singh did not feature in India`s Asia Cup 2025 campaign opening match against the UAE. But over the years, the pacer has emerged as one of the reliable bowling options for the side in white-ball cricket.

Further speaking, the former cricketer said that the swashbuckling left-handed batsman, Abhishek Sharma, will go hard against Pakistan`s bowling attack. He also feels that the “Green Shirts” will find themselves in trouble if they try to go all guns blazing against India`s spin attack.

“India will go hard. Abhishek Sharma will go hard. He would not take a step back. Pakistan with against spin with their bat have also not been amazing. If they go to attack a lot, then they will find themselves in trouble against this Indian team,” added the 38-year-old.

The Asia Cup 2025 match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan will be in action in just a few hours.

Asia Cup 2025, IND vs PAK: Squads

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Pakistan squad: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.

(With ANI Inputs)