India and Pakistan, the two teams will begin their campaign in the Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament on Sunday in Dubai, a venue where India suffered a 10-wicket thrashing to Babar Azam’s Pakistan in last year’s T20 World Cup. The two teams only play each other in multi-nation tournaments due to political tension and the result of their previous meeting has been a talking point in the lead-up to the six-nation Asia Cup. An India-Pakistan match is always a big draw among cricket fans with millions expected to watch the match across the globe.
India’s skipper Rohit Sharma said India have learnt from their previous loss to Pakistan but playing their arch-rivals in the hotly-anticipated Asia Cup match will be a challenge.
India vs Pakistan Asia Cup match:
Cricket fans in India can watch the match live on Star Sports Network in India from 7.30 pm and fans can also watch the intense game online on the Disney+Hotstar app in India.
Squads of both teams
India:
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Yuzvendra Chahal
Pakistan:
Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir, Asif Ali, Mohammad Hasnain.
Pakistan outplayed India by 10 wickets in their previous meeting to bring the house down at the T20 World Cup match in Dubai last year.
“Losing any game in a World Cup always hurts a little bit,” said India’s vice-captain.
“We were outplayed by a really strong Pakistan team, so we once again get an opportunity against them.
“There might be a history of how many times we have played, how many times each team has won (but) it doesn’t count for anything, it will always start from zero.”
After star India batter Virat Kohli opened up about his struggles with mental health in recent times, captain Rohit Sharma said a lot of players have gone through hard times mentally since COVID-19 struck due to the requirement to stay in bubbles and inside hotel premises for a long period of time.
In an interview with broadcaster Star Sports, Kohli opened up on why he was required to have a break from cricket. He said he did not touch his bat for a month for the first time in a decade post the England tour.
“We do talk about mental health. It has been difficult for a lot of players not just Virat, but for a lot of players who have gone through hard times mentally since COVID struck. Staying in bubbles, not being able to go outside, some of the guys find it difficult. And there is nothing wrong with it because of how you led your life until you were stuck with Covid,” Rohit said at a press conference ahead of the vital opening match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
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