The Asia Cup 2022 started with Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in a fierce match in which Afghanistan won the match. However, Pakistan and India square off on August 28 in Dubai, making it the most anticipated match of the series. Group B includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Group A includes Hong Kong, Pakistan, India, and Hong Kong. The games will be held in Sharjah and Dubai.

There will be 13 matches overall in the tournament. India is the current event champion after defeating Bangladesh in the championship match in 2018. India has also won the most Asia Cup championships, with seven. Pakistan has won two titles, while Sri Lanka has won five.

In the Asia Cup rivalry between India and Pakistan, India has prevailed in 8 of the total 14 games. Pakistan has five victories. When India and Pakistan last met, Babar Azam's team won by a margin of 10 wickets in the T20 World Cup 2021.

A 15-person team has been announced by the BCCI for the competition. Due to an injury, Jasprit Bumrah was forced to withdraw from the competition. On the other side, Mohammed Shami was passed over for the team. The focus will be on Virat Kohli to get back in shape. He has had two years of hitting struggles and needs to have a breakout season this year.

The title defence of Rohit Sharma will also be watched closely. India has won the last two Asia Cups and has a chance to win three consecutive championships. Despite the absence of Bumrah and Shami, the lineup appears to be strong and well-rounded.

India Squad 

Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan

Standby: Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer

Shaheen Afridi was omitted from the squad owing to a knee injury, and the PCB announced a 15-member lineup in his place. Given his performances against India in the T20 World Cup last year, this is a major loss for the team. A back injury suffered by Mohammad Wasim during practice has been added to his injury list. He is the second Pakistani pacer whose season has been postponed. His substitute, Hasan Ali, is anticipated to participate in the opening match against India.

In this vital game, run-scoring will have to fall to Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. When the team won the T20 World Cup by 10 wickets last year, both players played unbeaten innings. With a lot of promise and a significantly improved team, Pakistan can potentially challenge India.

Pakistan Squad 

Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Hasan Ali, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Hasnain.

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