The 15th edition of the Asia Cup is all set to begin on 17 August with Afghanistan and Bangladesh taking on each other. But for Indian cricket team fans, the continental tournament begins on 28 August as the Rohit Sharma-led team will begin their campaign the same day. India will play Pakistan on 28 August in their opening Group A fixture.
With the two heavyweights of Asia, who share a long history, taking on each other, all eyes will be pinned on the TV screens. The broadcasters also know the importance of India vs Pakistan game and hence have launched a separate promo. Star Sports on Monday shared a 40-seconds-long video that shows India captain Rohit Sharma taking his guard while Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi gets ready to deliver the ball.
There is also a voiceover from Rohit Sharma where he talks about the importance of the game. “There’s a line between us… that extends to this crease. And we share an age-old relationship…of cricket. On the other side of the line, there are good players. Today, this line has called out to us, and today my India wants to lift this cup for the eighth time and wave the Indian flag at the world again,” hears the audio.
Notably, India and Pakistan have announced their squad for the 2022 Asia Cup. The BCCI on Monday announced a 15-member squad that features star batter Virat Kohli who is making a comeback to the side after missing out on the West Indies and Zimbabwe tour. KL Rahul will also be returning to the side after missing out on three months of cricket.
India Squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan