Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 14 (ANI): Former Indian Captain Sourav Ganguly backed India ahead of their high-voltage clash with arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025, stating the Men in Blue are a much stronger team.

The Indian cricket team will lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in their second Group A clash of the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, which will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.

While speaking to the media, Ganguly said, 'India is a much stronger team. Much superior, much stronger team.'

Both teams are heading into the contest on the back of convincing wins in their respective openers. India dominated hosts UAE by nine wickets in their first match, while Pakistan outclassed Hong Kong China by 93 runs comfortably.

The result makes Sunday's encounter pivotal in the race to the Super Four. A win here not only brings bragging rights but also strengthens early qualification chances.

Suryakumar Yadav is captaining a 15-member Indian Asia Cup 2025 squad in the UAE, with Shubman Gill serving as his deputy.

The India vs Pakistan rivalry has played out 13 times in the T20I format, with India leading 9-3. One of Pakistan's three wins came in the 2022 Asia Cup in Dubai - their last victory over India in T20 cricket.

India beat Pakistan by six runs in New York the last time the two teams met at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Bumrah produced a magical spell to turn the match when Pakistan seemed like the clear favourites to pick up a victory.

On the Asia Cup stage, India and Pakistan have met 19 times across both ODI and T20I formats. India has won 10, Pakistan six and three matches were abandoned.

Squads:

India: 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: 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. (ANI)