New Delhi: With just a few weeks remaining for the much-anticipated clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025, the tournament is receiving heavy criticism from the fans.
Sony Sports Network, the official broadcaster of the Asia Cup, released a promotional video for the T20 tournament, but ended up facing massive backlash from fans on social media. The trigger was their India vs Pakistan promo, which generated criticism for the highly anticipated encounter on September 14.
The promotional video featured India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, Pakistan’s fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, and former India batter Virender Sehwag. The broadcaster intended to create a buzz among fans for the India vs Pakistan match, but instead, it sparked outrage on social media.
The Indian fans criticised the broadcaster for focusing on the India vs Pakistan match, following the terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians. Several Indian fans called for a boycott of the tournament, while others called for a boycott of Sony Sports Network. The former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag also drew massive criticism from sections of fans for featuring in the promotional video.
#BoycottAsiaCup we can’t forget Pahalgam like you
— Manoj (@Nixachar) August 25, 2025
कुछ तो शर्म कर लो VIRENDER SEHWAG जी, आप मना भी कर सकते थे add के लिए, SHIKHAR DHAWAN से ही कुछ सीख लेना चाहिए था, #BoycottAsiaCup pic.twitter.com/903wZYTfyx
— OfcourseTweet (@SpreadingVibes4) August 27, 2025
Sehwag saab proving ‘patriotism ends where advertisement money begins’. pic.twitter.com/8xLr25Gczm
— Navaldeep Singh (@NavalGeekSingh) August 26, 2025
4 mahine mein saari Deshbhakti nikal gayi in santron ki.
Sharam aani chahiye @virendersehwag
Shame pic.twitter.com/EHnjyhsH8z
— Jitesh (@Chaotic_mind99) August 27, 2025
First of all, cancel this shameless India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 match
Shame on you, useless @BCCI @JayShah @BJP4India @SonySportsNetwk @virendersehwag. Nothing but spineless puppets.
And you @BJP4India are proving to be even more pathetic, corrupt & shameless than @INCIndia
— Akshay Koli 🇮🇳 (@MadarSh0T) August 25, 2025
We will Boycott pic.twitter.com/FCQ7ZcqaHU
— Surenddra verma (@mrsurendra) August 25, 2025
Koi sharam? pic.twitter.com/4MP3PsWsxZ
— Akhilesh (@im25akhil) August 23, 2025
India’s schedule and squad for Asia Cup 2025
Team India is placed in Group A along with Pakistan, UAE, and Oman, while Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong are placed in Group B.
Suryakumar and Co. will start their Asia Cup 2025 campaign against the hosts UAE, on September 10, followed by the much-anticipated clash against Pakistan on September 14. Their last group-stage match will be against Oman on September 19.
Squad: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel