The Asia Cup 2022 begins in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday with top cricketers including Pakistan captain Babar Azam and India superstar Virat Kohli.
AFP Sport selects five players to watch in the six-nation tournament, a crucial exercise for the T20 World Cup in Australia in October.
red hot azmi
Pakistan will be heavily dependent on Azam’s flamboyant batting with the injury of key pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.
The 27-year-old leads the T20 and ODI batting rankings and comes into the tournament with two big half-centuries in Pakistan’s 3-0 ODI sweep of the Netherlands.
He scored an unbeaten 68 for his side demolished India by 10 wickets in the last meeting between arch-rivals in the 2021 T20 World Cup – at the same venue where they meet this Sunday.
Cornered Kohli
Star batsman Virat Kohli will play his 100th T20I match when India take on Pakistan in their first match, which has been rested from the recent tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe.
This 33-year-old player needs a big score. He last hit an international century in November 2019 and is going through the worst phase of his otherwise illustrious career.
Kohli, who has scored 27 centuries in 102 Tests since making his debut in 2011, has endured a tough 12 months, which also replaced him as the national captain.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri said, “He gets a half-century in the first game, will be shut for the rest of the tournament.”
all round smile
Wanindu Hasaranga made a strong impact with his leg-spin in this year’s Indian Premier League, taking 26 wickets in 16 matches to increase his stock as an impressive bowler.
Along with fellow spinners Mahesh Thekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay and Praveen Jayawickrama, he will lead Sri Lanka’s bowling charge on the slow pitches of the UAE’s spin.
The 25-year-old Hasaranga, who did not play in The Hundred in England as Sri Lanka wanted him fresh for the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup, is also a handy lower-order batsman.
captain shakibo
Shakib Al Hasan has often courted controversy on and off the field, but he is Bangladesh’s most consistent performer and returns to lead the team.
The star all-rounder was asked to break ties with a gambling portal to get back the captaincy of Bangladesh, who have won just two of their last 15 Twenty20 matches.
The 35-year-old left-handed batsman and spinner will play his 100th T20 International in Bangladesh when they begin their Asia Cup campaign against Afghanistan on Tuesday.
spin king rashid
Rashid Khan will be Afghanistan’s go-to bowler in their battle for the Asian crown, with the leg-spinner going strong with 112 wickets in 66 T20 Internationals.
The 23-year-old has been a big hit in global Twenty20 leagues including the IPL and The Hundred for his wicket-taking ability and attacking lower-order batting.
Rashid will be among the key players in the team along with skipper Mohammad Nabi and will share spin duties with Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Noor Ahmed.