The biggest rivalry in world cricket is all set to reignite as India will clash against Pakistan in their opening match of Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday. Rohit Sharma and Co. have a big task ahead of them to overcome the ghosts of crushing defeat which they suffered in the 2021 T20 World Cup match against Pakistan. India started their transitional phase after an early exit in the 2021 T20 WC under head coach Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma. While Pakistan continue to play quality cricket in recent times and turned out to be a dominant side in the shortest format of the game.
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India still looked a bit unsettled on paper as they have not finalised their strongest playing XI and the injuries will make things even more tricky for them in Asia Cup. Senior players including Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have not played much cricket in recent times but the team management is expected to stick with them. On the other side, Pakistan have also made some changes in their bowling attack after the last year’s T20 WC. At the same time, they will also miss the services of Shaheen Shah Afridi who ran riot with the ball when the two teams last faced each other.
Here are the players to watch out for in the upcoming mega clash between India and Pakistan
India
Virat Kohli
Without any doubt, the spotlight will be on Kohli as he will returns to competitive cricket after a short break as he missed the West Indies and Zimbabwe tours. Kohli is going through a lean patch with the bat but he has expressed his desire to win the Asia Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup and he is ready to do everything for it. However, the batting maverick has performed well against Pakistan in this tournament in the past which also included a ferocious 183-run knock in the 2012 edition. Several former cricketers have backed Kohli to bounce back in the upcoming multi-nation tournament and the former India skipper will aim to prove them right.
Rohit Sharma
The Indian captain has not been at his best with the bat this year as he scored 290 runs in 13 matches at an average of 24.16. The new fearless batting approach of the Indian team has also not gone well with Rohit as he scored just one half-century in T20Is this year so far. It was a nightmare for the 35-year-old when he last faced Pakistan after getting dismissed on a golden duck by Shaheen Afridi’s lethal toe-crushing yorker. However, the Indian skipper has a good record against the arch-rivals in last few matches which included centuries in 2019 ODI World Cup and 2018 Asia Cup final matches.
Hardik Pandya
The resurgence of Hardik Pandya has helped India to get back on track. He provides the perfect balance to any squad which worked well for the Men in Blue. Pandya was under the scanner for his bowling fitness during the 2021 T20 World Cup as he took a short sabbatical from competitive cricket after the tournament to work on it. The flamboyant all-rounder bounced back in IPL 2022 after regaining full fitness. He impressed many with his all-round show for Gujarat Titans and led them to win the title in their maiden season. He returned to the Indian colours after IPL 2022 and cemented his place in the XI straightaway. In 13 T20Is he played this year, Pandya scored 281 runs and claimed 8 wickets this year so far.
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Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The veteran pacer has performed exceedingly well this year in the shortest format. The selectors rested several senior bowlers this year in T20Is, however, Bhuvneshwar remained a constant in the line-up on majority of occasions. He played 17 T20Is this year and took 20 wickets at an economy of 6.84. The two arch-rivals didn’t play bilateral series recently as players didn’t get enough chance to showcase their skills against each other. The 32-year-old has played just 4 T20Is against Pakistan and claimed five wickets and he will look to improve the numbers on Sunday.
Pakistan
Babar Azam
Babar played just 1 T20I this year but he made the best out of it by scoring 66 runs. The premier batter is currently ranked number 1 in ICC Rankings and has become one of the best in business in the past couple of years. The last time India faced Pakistan, Babar scored 68 runs to help his team register a massive 10-wicket victory. As a captain, he also has a big responsibility to manage his bowling resources in the absence of Shaheen.
Mohammad Rizwan
In the past couple of years, Rizwan has turned out to be one of the most improved batters in world cricket. The opening batter played 29 T20Is since the start of last year and has slammed 1326 runs at an astonishing average of 73.66. He is ranked at number 3 in the current ICC T20I batting charts and has all the chance to get the numero uno spot after Asia Cup. In the 2021 T20 WC clash, Rizwan scored unbeaten 79 runs to form a solid partnership with his skipper Babar to upset India in the group stage clash. The opening batter will look to replicate the same in the Asia Cup match against arch-rivals.
Shadab Khan
Pakistan have played very less T20I matches this year as they missed the trick of working on their shortcomings which stopped them from winning the last year’s T20 WC. Shadab is one of the senior players in the squad who provide the right balance to the team and his rich experience of playing on UAE soil. In the 14 T20Is, he has claimed 21 wickets in the Gulf nation. The 23-year-old also has the ability to get the job done with the bat too with a strike rate of 136.81 in his T20I career.
Haris Rauf
In the absence of Shaheen, the onus will be on Rauf who has made a big name for himself in the shortest format after making his career. He had 42 scalps under his kitty in 35 matches he has played. With his raw pace, the 28-year-old has a big task ahead of himself to dent India’s new fearless approach. The last time when India faced Pakistan, Rauf returned with economical figures of 1/25. He might feel a bit of pressure to lead the pace attack as Pakistan failed to execute a smooth transition in their pace attack after last year’s ICC event.
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