There is no bigger game in cricket than the clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, and one is due today (Sunday). The two neighbouring nations, with a bitter cricketing history, will lock horns in the Asia T20 Cup, report agencies.
India's Virat Kohli has the chance to find form before the World Cup while Babar Azam will look to keep Pakistan's psychological edge.
India will be looking to avenge their 10-wicket humiliation by Pakistan at the same venue in last year's T20 World Cup.
India head coach Rahul Dravid has Covid and India late on Wednesday appointed former batsman V.V.S. Laxman to take charge in an interim capacity.
The match will be Kohli's 100th T20 international and a chance for the batting great to emerge from his prolonged slump before the World Cup.
The 33-year-old has not scored a century in any format since 2019 but should be refreshed after being rested for tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
Kohli, who has 27 centuries in 102 Tests, was replaced by Rohit as all-format skipper earlier this year.
He returns to international cricket after a break of seven weeks during which India has outplayed the West Indies and Zimbabwe in white-ball cricket without its ace batter.
It's been over 1,000 days since Kohli last scored a 100 in international cricket and he will be looking to make his 100th T20 international appearance today (Sunday) end the debate on his future in the shorter version of the game.
Kohli has played just four of India's 24 T20s since the last T20 World Cup, which was also held in the UAE. He had a below-par IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore and has scored just 422 runs in T20s this year with an under-par average of 22.21 and a poor strike rate by his standards of just 118.20.
Kohli will be the only second player after Ross Taylor of New Zealand to have played in more than 100 games in all three formats of the game.
But it could be a make or break situation for Kohli as it will be the last major event before India picks its squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia in October.
The depth in India's top-order batting in white-ball cricket - especially in T20s - is so great that in order to accommodate Kohli in the Asia Cup, it had to leave out strong batters like Shreyas Iyer.
In Jasprit Bumrah's absence, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan have been given opportunities to strengthen their respective cases for spots in the Men's T20 World Cup squad.
Pakistan has to rely on its second-string pace attack after destructive pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was ruled out for at least four to six weeks because of a knee injury he sustained while fielding during a test match in Sri Lanka last month.
It suffered a second blow in its pace armory on Friday when young Mohammad Wasim Junior was also ruled out because of side strain.
Afridi was the wrecker-in-chief when he blew the Indian top-order in the T20 World Cup with the wickets of captain Rohit Sharma, K.L. Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav - all three part of India's team in T20 Asia Cup.
Young fast bowlers Mohammad Hasnain, who is making a comeback after remodeling his bowling action, and uncapped Naseem Shah could be in line to supplement Haris Rauf and challenge a strong India batting lineup. Shahnawaz Dahani is another fast bowling option for Pakistan.
Naseem made an impressive debut in white-ball cricket in the recent ODI series against the Netherlands, claiming 10 wickets in three games that included a five-wicket haul in the last match at Rotterdam to seal Pakistan's 3-0 victory.
Like India, Pakistan has a strong top-three batting lineup with captain Babar Azam scoring heavily up front with Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman. Babar and Rizwan were the architects of Pakistan's superb chase of 152-0 when they scored unbeaten half centuries against India in the last T20 World Cup group game.
Pakistan's fortunes will mainly depend on in-form skipper Babar, fresh from two big half-centuries in his team's 3-0 ODI sweep of the Netherlands.
Babar, 27, tops the world T20 and ODI batting rankings and led his team to victory last year against India with an unbeaten 68.
The top three Pakistan batters have consumed 70 per cent of the balls in the 13 T20 internationals since the last T20 World Cup. Defending champions India, who won the last Asia Cup in 2018 when it was played over 50 overs, and Pakistan will be joined in Group 'A' by Hong Kong who defeated the UAE in the final qualifier on Wednesday.
If the cricketing gods are in a mood, then two more India-Pakistan clashes could happen in the Asia Cup, including the final.
But for now, today (Sunday)'s match is enough to increase the blockbuster quotient, when India and Pakistan take the field, irrespective of whether heat is at its scorching best or not.
The two neighbouring nations, with a bitter cricketing history, will lock horns in the Asia T20 Cup. Having being whipped by a whopping margin of ten wickets by the Green Shirts in the T20 World Cup game on October 24, 2021, last year in Dubai, India will be very cautious in the much-anticipated showpiece.
And indeed it would not be easy for India to dent Pakistan’s hopes. The Green Shirts, with strong T20 cricket credentials over the years, can repeat last year’s World Cup feat against India with their opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who will be a real threat to the Indians.
Squads: India: 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, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Hasan Ali (subject to approval from ETC), Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.
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