Former India captain Ajay Jadeja has raised doubts over the structure of the Asia Cup 2025 after India’s hammering win against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Dubai on Wednesday, September 10. The first Group A match turned into a completely one-sided affair as India cruised to a nine-wicket victory within just 4.3 overs of their chase.
After winning the toss, skipper Suryakumar Yadav asked UAE to bat first, and the Indian bowlers wasted no time in asserting their dominance early on. Led by Kuldeep Yadav, they bundled the opposition for only 57 runs in 13.1 overs, leaving the batters with very little work to do. The opposition had made a steady start by scoring 26 runs in the first 21 balls, but their innings collapsed soon after. From 26 without loss, they slipped to 57 all out, losing all ten wickets for only 31 runs.
“There is no doubt that India are the superior team, but there was no contest at all. There is sadness because of the way the UAE approached their entire innings. I admit you can’t compete against India, but you didn’t even play 20 overs,” Jadeja said on Sony Sports.
He added that the Asia Cup has always been considered a major competition, and lopsided games in this continental tournament may turn out to be disadvantageous and not send the right message to teams like the UAE.
“No matter how polite I might wish to be, it needs to be said that when we are talking about such a big tournament, and the Asia Cup is not a small tournament, they will have to reconsider whether they should keep eight teams because this is not encouragement, but a discouragement, because of the way they performed,” Jadeja explained.
