3 major concerns for Team India ahead of the Asia Cup 2025 Final ft. Suryakumar Yadav's form

The 2025 Asia Cup will come to a close on Sunday, September 28 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The tournament will witness a high-profile final, with India and Pakistan facing off for the third time in the last two weeks.

India are the outright favorites for the final, having beaten Pakistan twice already in the competition. Unbeaten so far, the Men in Blue are expected to get over the line and secure another multi-national trophy.

However, they aren't bereft of concerns - in fact, there are a few pressing problem areas that they'll need to address if they are to win comfortably.

India's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Pakistan's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup: 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 Wasim Jr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem.

On that note, here are three major concerns for Team India ahead of the Asia Cup 2025 Final against Pakistan.

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#3 India's fielding has been shocking so far in the 2025 Asia Cup

India v Pakistan - Asia Cup - Source: Getty

India's fielding has been dismal so far in the 2025 Asia Cup. The Men in Blue have a catch success rate close to 60%, with even their best fielders putting down simple chances.

Almost every player in the lineup has shelled a catch at some point during the tournament, with the lights at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium working against them. However, India have played at the ground enough times over the last few years to understand its challenges, and they can't afford to be lax with their catching on Sunday.

In fact, against Sri Lanka, even their ground fielding under pressure wasn't particularly impressive. Suryakumar Yadav has dismissed concerns about fielding, but there's no doubt that this could be a major factor in the final.

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#2 India will have to sacrifice either batting depth or a second specialist pacer

India v United Arab Emirates - Asia Cup - Source: Getty

India's juggernaut has rolled on in the 2025 Asia Cup, but the balance of their side is still questionable. For most of the competition, Suryakumar and Co. have played Jasprit Bumrah as the lone specialist pacer, with Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya chipping in with overs when necessary.

With Arshdeep Singh starring with his death-bowling in the previous game, India will need to choose between the left-arm seamer and Dube. While they're likely to prefer Dube, having gone for a batting-heavy approach under Gautam Gambhir, having a second pacer will greatly simplify their bowling changes.

India will end up making a sacrifice of some kind, and that isn't ideal in a match as big as the Asia Cup Final.

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#1 Suryakumar Yadav's form is hugely concerning

India v Sri Lanka - Asia Cup - Source: Getty

Suryakumar Yadav has been in indifferent form in recent times and is averaging under 15 over the course of the calendar year. The Indian skipper has looked out of sorts during the 2025 Asia Cup against both pace and spin, failing to start as quickly as he usually does.

Suryakumar's form is a big concern for India. Haris Rauf has his number, having dismissed him thrice in three outings, while the Pakistan spinners could also trouble him if they slow it up and attack the stumps.

India will need their captain to come to the party in this crunch game, and he won't have much time to get among the boundaries.