Asia Cup is back with a bang after a hiatus of four years as the marquee tournament is all set to kick off from August 27. But fans have set their sights on the 'mother of all clashes', the India-Pakistan slugfest which will be played on the very next day of the Asia Cup 2022's opener, August 28 in UAE.
The last time both the arch-rivals faced each other was in T20 World Cup 2021, where India suffered a humiliating 10-wicket loss at the same venue.
Meanwhile, ahead of the all-important clash, the former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed made a huge claim while comparing the two sides. While speaking to Paktv.tv, Pakistan's World Cup-winning pace bowler, said that the difference lies in the middle-order line-up in the batting department.
The Pakistani opined that both the teams have match-winning top-order batters but one thing that give India an edge over the arch-nemesis is the presence of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
“The difference between the two teams lies in their batting. India's batting is still more experienced. If a batter like Rohit Sharma clicks, he can single-handedly win the match for India. Similarly with Fakhar Zaman. If he plays with control, he can win the match for Pakistan. But the middle-order line-up of India and Pakistan, that's the difference. Also their all-rounder, that makes a difference. Because Pakistan does not have a Hardik Pandya like all-rounder,” Javed said.
Notably, Pandya was part of the Indian squad when they were jolted by Babar Azam-led Pakistan in their last meeting. But ever since the all-rounder kept on struggling with the injury woes until he finally got his mojo back. Pandya is riding on a sublime form both with the willow and ball as he also led the Gujarat Titans to IPL crown in its last edition.
Following his impressive show, Hardik was recalled to the India T20I side before he cemented his spot yet again for the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
India's squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan. Standby: Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar.
Pakistan's squad for Asia Cup: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir.
