When the fight for continental supremacy takes place at the Asia Cup T20 event on Tuesday, it would be an understatement to say that Suryakumar Yadav-led India is the overwhelming favorite given the distance between them and the seven other countries, including a mercurial Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s match against Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi will kick off the action, but all eyes will be on Dubai, where a star-studded Indian team will try to thrash United Arab Emirates in its opening match on Wednesday.
This time, the Asia Cup has an air of inevitability in a competition that has frequently functioned as a practice run for the T20 World Cup. The Indian squad is under pressure, not only due to its reputation but also because the balance of power has shifted significantly in its favor.
Despite all of their internal conflicts and external demands, India appears to be the only side with a clarity of purpose. Furthermore, in high-stress competitions, clarity frequently matters more than skill. If leadership and talent depth are taken into consideration, then this is India’s tournament to lose.
The confidence has been so strong that head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar have never considered selecting a squad of 17 players as permitted by the Asian Cricket Council.
Instead, even though it meant excluding players like Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal, they selected 15, as they do for ICC events.
Neither Suryakumar nor head coach Gautam Gambhir will receive any additional credit for winning the continental championship for the ninth time (seven in ODI format and one in T20 format in 2016).
Anything less than the title, however, would trigger heavy criticism, especially with the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka just four and a half months away.
If Suryakumar and his teammates make it to the Asia Cup final, they will have about 20 games left before the T20 World Cup begins. One of the side’s main objectives would be to get the core mix just right. India is so strong that the BCCI can currently field three national T20 teams with equal strength.
With an incredible 80% win rate thus far, Suryakumar has been an outstanding captain. However, the Mumbaikar will eventually be replaced by vice-captain Shubman Gill in the leadership group.
There will undoubtedly be a lot of interest in seeing how the Test and T20 captains coordinate and sing from the same hymn sheet.
It has been challenging for nations like Pakistan and Sri Lanka, who were on even keel till a decade and a half ago, to match the way Indian hitters have revolutionized the grammar of T20 hitting, largely as a result of their exposure to the IPL.
Thus, the Asia Cup’s overarching plot revolves more around who can stop India than over who can win. Their depth surpasses both Sri Lanka’s rebuilt team and Pakistan’s transitional experiment. The Pakistani team led by Salman Ali Agha has a youthful appearance.
PCB’s most blatant acknowledgement to date that a squad cannot be held captive by its repute is the exclusion of Muhammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. Their performance against a colorful Indian batting lineup, however, will primarily rely on how Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Hasan Ali bowl.
With their spinners dominating on a slow Sharjah wicket, Pakistan would feel secure after crushing Afghanistan by 75 runs in a low-scoring tri-nation final.
Under Charith Asalanka, Sri Lanka isn’t bad either, although it’s questionable if they’ll be able to win six or seven games in a tournament. Bangladesh lacks the firepower to mount a threat for the duration of the tournament because they are still inconsistent in the shortest format.
To be honest, along with Hong Kong, Bangladesh appears to be the second team in Group B to be eliminated.
The only genuine obstacle left is Afghanistan, a team whose spinners, led by the unmatched Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, and the newcomer, A Ghazanfar, are predicted to suffocate opponents in the middle overs. A batting order that can hit harder than ever before is added to it.
There will inevitably be anxiety, but the associate nations will consider games against India and Pakistan as a chance to showcase their skills to a wider audience, as stated by Oman deputy head coach Sulakshan Kulkarni in an interview with PTI.
The Indian squad will face 12 NRIs in their group, six of whom will be from the United Arab Emirates and six more from Oman.
This competition is an important opportunity for the UAE, Oman, and Hong Kong to demonstrate their progress over the past few years, with stronger infrastructure and higher caliber expats from India and Pakistan representing them.
For most teams, bowling to Suryakumar Yadav or facing Jasprit Bumrah is a rare challenge. And as the Asia Cup T20 begins, one reality stands clear — the tournament is India’s to lose.
