Asia Cup 2022

Raza. though, will continue to remain UAE's One-day International captain. The decision comes just three days before their match against Kuwait in Al-Amerat, and two months before their T20 World Cup campaign in Australia.

The winning team of the qualifier tournament will earn a spot in Group A alongside India and Pakistan in the main Asia Cup event, set to start in Dubai and Sharjah from August 27. For the winners, they have the chance to square off against India (August 31) and Pakistan (September 2) in the Asia Cup. The United Arab Emirates are the highest ranked T20I team in the qualifier tournament at 12. But as per recent form, there doesn't appear to be much difference between the four contenders for the Group A spot in Asia Cup.

"Yes, they can win the Asia Cup. Do they lack Vitamin C (laughs)? The type of cricket they are playing, the pool of players they have, they are giving exposure of international cricket to a lot of players, people will consider them as favourites," Butt was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel. India have won the tournament seven times and will be going for the eighth crown when they start their campaign against Babar Azam's Pakistan on August 28. India last won the title in 2018, beating Bangladesh in a nail-biting final.

The Chevrons, as they are called, defeated Bangladesh 2-1 to win their first-ever bilateral T20I series over a higher-ranked side. Subsequently, they clinched the ODI series against them 2-1, cheered on by a full house of home supporters. Left-handed middle-order batter Ryan Burl was one of the main architects in Zimbabwe's T20I series win over Bangladesh at Harare. From 76/6, Burl slammed 34 runs off Nasum Ahmed in the 15th over, equalling the record for the second-most runs hit in an over in T20I cricket.

The tournament will begin on August 27 and the final will be played on September 11. India won the Asia Cup 7 times on the other hand Pakistan had won the Asia Cup twice. This will be the first time that Rohit Sharma will lead India as a full-time captain in the Asia cup and Babar Azam will lead Pakistan. The squad of both of the teams was announced recently:

Six teams will be participating in Asia Cup 2022. India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are the 5 confirmed teams and one team from Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore, and UAE will capture the sixth spot in the qualifier round will take place ahead of the tournament and the winner will grab the spot of the 6th team will start from August 20 to 24.

The rivalry between India and Pakistan is one of cricket's biggest and all eyes will be on Dubai on August 28 when the two foes go head-to-head. While Pakistan hold the edge overall in head-to-head meetings, it's a different story at the Asia Cup with India currently clinging to a slender 7-5 advantage (one no result) from 13 matches. While Ponting expects a tight tussle between the rivals, he believes India have the depth to prevail. The Australian legend also mentioned that India are tough opponents to beat in any tournament, not just an Asia Cup

With the Asia Cup starting from August 27 in the UAE, the tournament presents a chance for India to sort out their playing eleven composition ahead of Men's T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November. Since his comeback in T20I cricket in June, Karthik has been bringing out the required finishing acts and effectively sealing the finisher spot in the Indian team.

Kohli was rested for India's tour of the West Indies where the team played 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is in July-August. However, he has been picked for the much-anticipated Asia Cup, which also features a blockbuster clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan. The star batter took to social media to share a video of his training session via an Instagram story, which was all over the internet in no time.

Out-of-form batters Kohli and opener Rahul have made a comeback to T20Is through the 15-member squad for Asia Cup 2022 announced late on Monday. But pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will not be a part of the competition due to back injury. Harshal Patel also misses out due to a rib injury. The Asia Cup is of vital importance for Rohit Sharma and his side as India's performance in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year was abysmal, to say the least.