The excitement for the 2022 Asia Cup is increasing with every passing second, as the game begins from Saturday onwards, which is the most closely fought edition ever. The T20 format being the most unpredictable of all, makes it seem that a lot is at stake.
The six-team competition has the potential to display the talent that has never been seen before, according to Pakistani star Wasim Akram. With the exception of the lone qualifier Hong Kong, the other five teams—record seven-time winners India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh—can defeat one another on occasion.
The event, which is being held in the T20 format for the first time in six years, had to be relocated to the UAE after the hosts Sri Lanka stated their inability to organise it at home due to the island nation's ongoing economic difficulties.
All of the participating nations will be looking to determine their final roster for the ICC event over the course of the next two weeks, despite the fact that the conditions in the UAE will be different from what teams will experience at the World Cup in Australia in October-November.
The stakes are high enough for the competing teams as well. India will be under pressure to perform its extremely aggressive batting strategy, beginning with the opening match against Pakistan on Sunday.
Virat Kohli, who is anticipated to emerge from a protracted lean patch, will be the centre of attention. The performance of the top three players, led by captain Rohit Sharma and K L Rahul, will be scrutinised, and bowler Jasprit Bumrah's injury will be felt.
Pakistan, a team that has improved over the previous 12 months, will try to win the competition that it last won in the ODI format, 10 years ago. Prior to the competition, they were hampered by a few injury issues, with top pacer Shaheen Afridi being forced to withdraw owing to a knee ailment. The opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan will be over-reliant because of the middle order's relative inexperience.
Afghanistan will be aiming to defeat the higher-ranked nations under the seasoned Mohammad Nabi since they failed to do so in the T20 World Cup held here last year. Rashid Khan, who always has the advantage with the ball, will be looking for the batsmen to do well.
Under the leadership of new head coach Chris Silverwood, Sri Lanka has shown a lot of promise. The group is filled with potential, and the occasion offers a great chance to rise to stardom quickly and cheer up those who are struggling at home.
Under Shakib Al Hasan's direction, Bangladesh, who has struggled in the shortest format since the World Cup, will be looking to right their trajectory. In order to fill the weaknesses in the T20 setup, Sridharan Sriram has been appointed technical director ahead of the World Cup.
Hong Kong will be on India and Pakistan's radar in this group. After defeating the United Arab Emirates in the qualification played in Oman, Hong Kong earned a spot in the Asia Cup for a record-tying fourth time.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan. Standby: Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir.
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Anamul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasum Ahmed, Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ebadot Hossain, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Taskin Ahmed.
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Ashen Bandara, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwanidu Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal.
Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi (C), Najibullah Zadran (VC), Afsar Zazai (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Mujib ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Rashid Khan, Samiullah Shinwari and Usman Ghani.
Hong Kong: Nizakat Khan (c), Kinchit Shah, Zeeshan Ali, Haroon Arshad, Babar Hayat, Aftab Hussain, Ateeq Iqbal, Aizaz Khan, Ehsan Khan, Scott McKechnie (wk), Ghazanfar Mohammad, Yasim Murtaza, Dhananjay Rao, Wajid Shah, Ayush Shukla, Ahan Trivedi, Mohammad Waheed.
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