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Although the mission T20 World Cup 2022 will be the utmost goal that Team India will be aiming for, before the fight for the world crown, there is a battle to be won for the continental championship. The Asia Cup 2022 is all set to be staged in the United Arab Emirates and with the tournament coming back in the T20 format this year becomes a key stepping stone for Asian teams to check their World Cup preparations.

The stage is set for the competition commencing on August 27 with the final scheduled to be held on September 11. Of course, among the several Asian rivalries, all eyes will be on the most intense and the most celebrated ones - India vs Pakistan match. This will be the first time that the two teams will meet after the Men in Green's demolition of India in their T20 World Cup match at the Dubai International Stadium last year.

That was Pakistan's first win over India in a World Cup match. While India will look to avenge that defeat while also preparing for their meeting in the T20 World Cup Down Under, Pakistan will look to repeat a similar result. Ahead of their face-off, here is a look at how India's Playing XI could look like for the clash against their arch-rivals in Asia Cup 2022.

1. Rohit Sharma (c)

No brainer first up. Rohit Sharma will lead the team in the Asia Cup 2022 and will open the innings for India. The right-handed batter led from the front when it came to setting up a template and attacking the opposition in the T20Is against England although the team and he himself would want bigger scores than just the starts. The Hitman has traditionally struggled against left-arm fast bowlers and got out to Shaheen Shah Afridi for a duck in the T20 World Cup match last year. He will come back better prepared to deal with such challenges this year.

2. KL Rahul

When fit, KL Rahul will automatically walk into the Playing XI. He has his own way of scoring runs and making batting look easy. Season after season of IPL, Rahul has scored loads of runs and Team India will hope that he has a similar tournament while representing the nation in the Asia Cup as well as the T20 World Cup. Rohit and Rahul together form a formidable opening combination that can set the tempo for the rest of the innings. Having said that, he too departed early and had little answer to Shaheen's left-arm pace bowling in their T20 World Cup last year. Will he have the answers this time around? We shall wait and see.

3. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli was one of the lone Indian batters who put up a fight against Pakistan in their last clash in 2021. However, wickets upfront and little support from others meant he can only take India's score to a competitive total which the Pakistan openers chased down unseparated. Things have also changed from the last time as Kohli is no longer the captain in any format and hasn't been scoring as many runs as he would have liked either. But come the big tournament, the eyes will turn to big guns and who better than arguably the greatest batter in modern-day cricket to expect runs from in a pressure situation.

4. Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav could be India's number 4 for Asia Cup 2022. He is often regarded as India's Mr 360 and showed what he is truly capable of in the last T20I against England. His superb hundred was hailed as the opposition captain Jos Buttler as one of the best that he had ever witnessed. He has a wise head on his shoulders and can change gears as per the situation of the game which makes him a dangerous batter at this number. When Suryakumar bats, SKY is the limit!

5. Rishabh Pant (wk)

Rishabh Pant has built his reputation as one of the finest talents in world cricket. The left-handed wicketkeeper-batter has already played several match-winning innings in Test cricket and some say that he has underachieved in white-ball cricket. However, with the kind of talent and potential that he has, Pant can make a mockery of any bowling attack on his day. Whatsmore as the Indian management hinted, he can even be tried at the top of the order or used as a floater if the situation demands so. Behind the stumps, Pant is clearly a much-improved performer than when he initially arrived in international cricket. He will be India's preferred wicketkeeper too.

6. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya can well be India's X-factor in this tournament. He played T20 World Cup 2021 too but there is a lot of difference between that Hardik and the one that one has seen in the build-up to the Asia Cup 2022. He is fitter, better and hungrier than ever before. He is taking the new ball, has shown his leadership skills by leading Gujarat Titans to victory in their first IPL season and has been among the runs both while batting up the order or playing an impactful cameo with few balls to go. Watch out for Hardik in Asia Cup 2022 and T20 World Cup 2022.

7. Ravindra Jadeja

In recent years, Ravindra Jadeja's batting has improved significantly. Moreover, with Hardik fit and available for bowling, Jadeja may not be required to bowl all his 4 overs in every match. Suddenly this combination gives Rohit 6 proper bowling options as well as greater depth in the batting line-up. Other than his batting and left-arm spin, Jaddu has the trick of changing matches with direct hits and superb catches. All of that makes him a must in the XI in a big tournament like the Asia Cup or the T20 World Cup.

8. Harshal Patel

Harshal Patel is the new addition to this pace bowling attack. While Bumrah and Bhuvi have more international experience and will most probably start upfront with perhaps the usage of Hardik, Harshal Patel owns the territory when it comes to bowling the middle overs and at the death. He will use all his variations and keep the batters guessing. Other than the variations in speed and the different kinds of slower balls, Harshal is useful with the bat and can be very consistent with his line and lengths. So not a bad option to consider in the XI.

9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

This is clearly Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2.0. Once again, the ball seems to be in his control and following his commands. He is swinging the ball nicely and providing the team with early breakthroughs which makes the task a lot easier for the rest of the bowling unit. With such an experienced campaigner at the peak of his ability, even a hint of movement for pacers and trust Bhuvi to extract it. It is always a great sight watching Bhuvi and Bumrah bowl well in tandem.

10. Yuzvendra Chahal

For some reason, Yuzvendra Chahal missed out on India's squad for T20 World Cup last year. But this time around, there is no reason to overlook him. The star leg-spinner has created an impact whenever he has gotten the ball in his hand. The best part about Chahal is despite getting scored off, he sticks to his strengths and sometimes outwits the batter. An out-and-out wicket-taker and an attacking bowler, Chahal is capable of spinning a web around the opposition.

11. Jasprit Bumrah

India's leading pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has to be on this list. In fact, he is one of the first names that will be picked whenever an Indian team is picked and he is fit and available for selection. The right-arm speedster can bowl upfront, in the middle overs, or at the death and is a valuable asset to have in the XI. Other than seam and swing, Bumrah also has the slower ball and the yorker which makes him a complete package. Good luck having to pick his variations with his action and arm speed.