Sony Sports Network, the official broadcaster of the upcoming Asia Cup, is in trouble after releasing a promo for the India vs Pakistan match. The ad features India captain Suryakumar Yadav, Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi and Indian legend Virender Sehwag. The intention was to build hype for the big match on September 14 but it has instead sparked a huge backlash on social media.

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It’s against the backdrop of the April 23 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were killed. Many fans and experts are calling for a boycott of the Asia Cup itself. Along with this, a section of fans are also asking for a boycott of Sony Sports Network and BCCI and Sehwag for promoting the India-Pakistan match.

Sehwag Backs Team India Ahead of Asia Cup

In the midst of the controversy, Sehwag has expressed confidence in India’s chances.

“We are world champions. We won the World Cup, T20 World Cup and I am sure we are the best team in the Asia Cup and hopefully we will win the Asia Cup,” Sehwag said in a video posted by Sony Sports Network on social media.

“I think we have a very good team and Sky is leading from the front and he’s a top player in T20 format. I am sure we will do well under his captaincy because we have seen in the past when Sky has taken over we have won a lot of T20 games and I am sure we will win the Asia Cup also,” he added.

India has been grouped in Group A along with UAE, Pakistan and Oman. The team will start their campaign on September 10 against UAE, then on September 14 against Pakistan and will finish the group stage on September 19 against Oman in Abu Dhabi.

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India squad for Asia Cup: 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.