Asia Cup 2025: Back up captain of each team

Published - 07 Sept 2025, 14:42 IST | Updated - 07 Sept 2025, 15:09 IST

The Asia Cup 2025 is right around the corner, and the excitement is fast building up for the tournament. The continental tournament has often served as a preparatory platform for upcoming ICC events, and it is no different this time round, as the T20 World Cup 2026 is the next men's ICC event.

Meanwhile, all teams have announced their squads and are looking to make an impact in this competition. The upcoming Asia Cup is set to begin on September 9 in the United Arab Emirates. For the first time in history, the competition will feature eight teams in the T20 format. However, while the teams have already handed the captaincy, there are a few potential players whom the teams can give the responsibility of leadership in the worst-case scenario.

Afghanistan’s former skipper and most experienced player, Mohammad Nabi, will be the backup captaincy option for the upcoming event. While Rashid Khan has been named the skipper, Nabi brings immense experience and leadership qualities, having captained Afghanistan across multiple stints.

His first tenure between 2013 and 2015 was a breakthrough period, where he led the team to 13 ODI and 16 T20I victories, including a historic win over Bangladesh in the 2014 Asia Cup, the team's first victory against a Test-playing nation. He also captained Afghanistan at their maiden 2015 ODI World Cup. Nabi later returned to leadership for the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups, though he stepped down after the latter due to disagreements over team preparation. Across formats, Nabi has captained 28 ODIs and 35 T20Is.