Pakistan’s players in Asia Cup 2025 (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Former England spinner Monty Panesar has expressed confidence in India’s prospects against Pakistan in their upcoming Asia Cup match in Dubai, with India being named as the clear favourites.Panesar, known for his keen interest in India-Pakistan matches, notes that India’s team composition appears more balanced with their combination of strong batting and bowling units.“I feel India are favourites to win, as their team is stronger, and Pakistan have to play really well, they have to push 10–20 per cent extra. The world watches the India-Pakistan match, and the competition should be very good between the teams. In today’s match, India are favourites, as Pakistan are not a strong team yet,” Panesar told IANS.

The match has received subdued attention due to tense political relations between the two nations following military confrontations in May after the Pahalgam terrorist attack that resulted in 26 civilian casualties.India responded with Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, areas identified as sources of terrorist activities against India.The Union Sports Ministry has specified that while India can compete against Pakistan in international and multilateral events, bilateral sports events in either country are not permitted.India began their Asia Cup campaign with a convincing nine-wicket victory over the UAE. Pakistan also started strongly, securing a 93-run win against Oman in Dubai.This tournament marks India’s first major multilateral competition without veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who retired from T20I cricket last year.The Pakistan team is also competing without former captains Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who were not selected for this UAE tournament.