A blockbuster between India and Pakistan headlines the Asia Cup starting in the early hours of Wednesday morning AEST as they face off for the first time in cricket since the military conflict in May.
Along with regional bragging rights, the Twenty20 competition will serve as a build-up towards the T20 World Cup in February-March in India and Sri Lanka.
The eight-team event in the United Arab Emirates begins when Afghanistan play minnows Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi.
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Arch-rivals India and Pakistan clash in Dubai from 12.30am AEST Monday 15 September, with Pakistan bowling great Wasim Akram saying players and fans from both teams should “remain disciplined and not cross the line”.
The neighbours have not met on either side’s soil in a bilateral series since 2012 and only play each other in international tournaments on neutral ground as part of a compromise deal.
The two Asian cricketing giants have been clubbed together in the same group and could potentially meet three times in the tournament, which concludes on September 28.
There have been tensions in the build-up after the two countries fought an intense four-day conflict, their worst since 1999.
The hostilities in May left more than 70 people dead in missile, drone and artillery exchanges, before a ceasefire.
Both sides claimed victory and in a sign of lingering bitterness, an India team of retired players withdrew from their semi-final with Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends in July-August in England.
Led by former international Yuvraj Singh, the Indians also refused to play Pakistan in the group stage of the tournament, as clamour grew among fans to boycott the games.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh was part of the veterans team and has strongly opposed the Asia Cup game.
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“Blood and sweat cannot co-exist,” Harbhajan told The Times of India. “It cannot be the case that there’s fighting on the border, tensions between the two nations, and we go to play cricket.
“Until these big issues are resolved, cricket is a very small matter.”
– India strong favourites –
India and Pakistan last met in cricket, again in Dubai, in February in the 50-over Champions Trophy, with India winning by six wickets and going on to lift the title.
They are also defending Asia Cup champions and led by Suryakumar Yadav are clear favourites against their old foes with a 10-3 win record against Pakistan in T20 internationals.
Pakistan will be without star players Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, both dropped from the shortest format because of poor form.
India won the previous Asia Cup, which was played in a 50-over format in 2023, when they beat hosts Sri Lanka in the final in Colombo. India are strong favourites to retain their crown.
The five full members of the Asian Cricket Council — Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka — earned automatic qualification to the tournament.
They are joined by Hong Kong, Oman and the UAE, teams that secured their spots by finishing in the top three of the ACC men’s Premier Cup.
Group A is made up of India, Pakistan, hosts UAE and Oman.
Group B comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. The group stage will be followed by a Super Four round, followed by the final in Dubai.
– Squads –
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Allah Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Farid Malik, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Bangladesh: Litton Das (c), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Tawhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali Anik, Shamim Hossain, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Shaif Uddin
Hong Kong: Yasim Murtaza (c), Babar Hayat, Zeeshan Ali, Niazakat Khan Mohammad, Nasrulla Rana, Martin Coetzee, Anshuman Rath, Kalhan Marc Challu, Ayush Ashish Shukla, Mohammad Aizaz Khan, Ateeq ul Rehman Iqbal, Kinchit Shah, Adil Mehmood, Haroon Mohammad Arshad, Ali Hassan, Shahid Wasif, Ghazanfar Mohammad, Mohammad Waheed, Anas Khan, Ehsan Khan
India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Oman: Jatinder Singh (c), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla, Sufyan Yousuf, Ashish Odedera, Aamir Kaleem, Mohammed Nadeem, Sufyan Mehmood, Aryan Bisht, Karan Sonavale, Zikriya Islam, Hassnain Ali Shah, Faisal Shah, Muhammed Imran, Nadeem Khan, Shakeel Ahmad, Samay Shrivastava.
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.
Sri Lanka: Charith Asalanka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana.
United Arab Emirates: Squad yet to be announced
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