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The cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan is one of the most fascinating and intense in the world. India and Pakistan have met many times against each other, and the latter has the best head-to-head record overall. However, India holds a slight advantage over Pakistan in the Asia Cup cricket. Let's take a deeper look at the history of the Asia Cup between India and Pakistan ahead of the fifteenth edition of the event in the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan and India's overall performances in the men's Asia Cup cricket competition India has won the most events in the Asia Cup competition—seven in all. In contrast, Pakistan has only triumphed in two tournaments. Their most recent title came in 2012, when they defeated Bangladesh in the championship game by just two runs. India India first won an Asia Cup trophy in the inaugural edition of the competition in 1984. They are the reigning champions of the tournament. Overall, India has reached ten finals out of thirteen, which indicates how dominating they are in this particular tournament. They chose not to participate in the 1986 Asia Cup due to their tense cricketing relations with the tournament's host Sri Lanka. Additionally, the Indian team triumphed in the maiden Twenty20-format Asia Cup in 2016. Read Asia Cup 2022: 12 Key Players to Watch in the Tournament India's men's cricket team has won 31 of the 49 games it has played in the Asia Cup's ODI format, for a winning percentage of 65.62. In the tournament's Twenty20 format, India has won five of the five games. India’s overall results in the Asia Cup Year Host Results  1984 UAE Champions  1986 Sri Lanka DNP 1988 Bangladesh Champions 1990/1991 India Champions 1995 UAE Champions 1997 Sri Lanka Runner-Up 2000 Bangladesh Third 2004 Sri Lanka Runner-Up 2008 Pakistan Runner-Up 2010 Sri Lanka Champions 2012 Bangladesh Third 2014 Bangladesh Third 2016 Bangladesh Champions 2018 UAE Champions   Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Cup Read Shakib Al Hasan: Expectations from Bangladesh’s T20 captain in Asia Cup 2022 Pakistan Pakistan first won an Asia Cup trophy in the seventh edition in 2000 in Bangladesh. They beat Sri Lanka in the final by 39 runs to clinch their maiden Asia Cup men’s cricket trophy. Twelve years later, in Bangladesh, they won their second trophy at the Asian Cup of cricket. Surprisingly, Pakistan's national team has played only four finals and they haven’t reached a championship match since 2016. Due to tense political ties with the host India, Pakistan opted not to participate in the 1990–1991 edition of the competition. With a winning percentage of 59.09, Pakistan's men's cricket team has won 26 of the 45 games it has played in the Asia Cup's ODI format. They have won two out of four games in the Twenty20 format of the tournament. Pakistan’s overall results in the Asia Cup Year Host Results 1984 UAE Third 1986 Sri Lanka Runner-Up 1988 Bangladesh Third 1990/1991 India DNP 1995 UAE Third 1997 Sri Lanka Third 2000 Bangladesh Champions 2004 Sri Lanka Third 2008 Pakistan Third 2010 Sri Lanka Third 2012 Bangladesh Champions 2014 Bangladesh Runner-Up 2016 Bangladesh Third 2018 UAE Third    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Cup Read Asia Cup 2022: SWOT Analysis of Bangladesh National Men’s T20 Cricket Squad Asia Cup: Head-to-Head Record between India and Pakistan  Every time Pakistan and India play in a cricket match, it is a euphoric and tense occasion for the supporters of the two sides. The Pakistan national men’s cricket team has the edge over India in the overall head-to-head battle across all formats with 87 wins. However, India’s national men’s cricket team has held the advantage in Asia Cup events. Two teams have faced each other fourteen times in this particular competition over the years. India has led the head-to-head contest with eight wins. Oppositely, Pakistan has five wins and one game had no result. In addition, India and Pakistan have never faced off in an Asia Cup final despite being the two biggest cricketing nations in the subcontinent. Asia Cup records between Pakistan and India Match Date Venue Result 13 April, 1984 Sharjah India won by 54 runs 31 October, 1988 Dhaka India won by 4 wickets 7 April, 1995 Sharjah Pakistan won by 97 runs 20 July, 1997 Colombo No Result 3 June, 2000 Dhaka Pakistan won by 44 runs 25 July, 2004 Colombo Pakistan won by 59 runs 26 June, 2008 Karachi India won by 6 wickets 2 July, 2008 Karachi Pakistan won by 8 wickets 19 June, 2010 Dambulla India won by 3 wickets 18 March, 2012 Dhaka India won by 6 wickets 2 March, 2014 Dhaka Pakistan won by 1 wicket 27 February, 2016 Dhaka India won by 5 wickets 19 September, 2018 Dubai India won by 8 wickets 23 September, 2018 Dubai India won by 9 wickets    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Cup Read Asia Cup 2022: Who are favourites to lift the trophy? How many times could India and Pakistan meet in the Asia Cup 2022? The group phase of the Asia Cup 2022 will begin on August 27 (Saturday). The competition consists of two groups, each with three teams. In Group A, Pakistan and India will compete. The third team in Group A will be the qualifier winner. Each group's top two teams will proceed to the Super Four phase. India and Pakistan's prospects of moving on from their group are merely formalities since the qualifier winner will be decided by the ICC associate nations of the Asian region. If Pakistan and India advance from Group A, they will play each other once again in the Super Four phase. The Super Four round's top two teams will be guaranteed a spot in the championship game. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka's Twenty20 teams are currently not in excellent form. None of these three teams are considered to have a strong chance of winning the competition. As a result, there is a good chance that India and Pakistan will face off three times during the main event. Cricket fans would be enthralled by the prospect of watching the Asia Cup 2022 final between Pakistan and India. If that occurs, this will be the first time in the tournament's history that these two countries have faced off in a final. Read T20s: Need to be like a baby learning to walk, says Shakib The dates on which India and Pakistan could meet in the Asia Cup 2022 Date: 28 August, 2022 | Group A match Date: 4 September, 2022 | Super Four match (if qualify) Date: 11 September, 2022 | Final (if qualify).  Which players would likely be seen in India and Pakistan’s playing XI? India and Pakistan both have some of the top Twenty20 players in their respective squads. The recent T20 performances of both teams have also been very impressive. Pakistan hasn't participated in a lot of T20I series following the T20 World Cup in 2021. After the major event, they defeated Bangladesh and the West Indies in all six of their games. Pakistan played just one T20 match this year. In April, they fell short against Australia in that T20 match. In that sense, the Pakistan Twenty20 team may find it difficult early in the 2022 Asia Cup competition. India can take advantage of this as they will play Pakistan in their opening encounter. India will enter the Asia Cup competition in excellent form, having won sixteen of their twenty-one games this year. They have won five bilateral series, while one with South Africa ended in a draw. The players who weren't picked are talented enough to be on the Indian team, so the selectors must have had a difficult time finalizing the squad. Here are the players from both sides who can make it into their respective playing XI. Read Meet Sridharan Sriram: Bangladesh national cricket team’s new T20 technical consultant India’s predicted playing XI Top-Order: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli,  Middle-Order: Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin,  Lower-Order: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal  Pakistan’s predicted playing XI Top-Order: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Fakhar Zaman,  Middle-Order: Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haider Ali, Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Mohammad Nawaz,  Lower-Order: Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani  Aftermath India will be the overwhelming favourite to win the 2022 Asia Cup cricket due to their recent Twenty20 form and success over Pakistan in the tournament. India will enter the upcoming competition with a lot of confidence since Rohit Sharma is yet to lose a Twenty20 series after being named the team's permanent captain earlier this year.  Read Pakistan’s Afridi to miss T20 Asia Cup and England series Pakistan, on the other hand, has lost its last three Asia Cup matches against India and will be driven to turn things around. Pakistan, the ICC's third-ranked Twenty20 side right now, stands a decent chance of overcoming India and taking home the championship. So far we have discussed how did India prevail over Pakistan in the previous Asia Cup Cricket tournaments. Now its time to see how can Pakistan prevent India from capturing their eighth Asia Cup title?

Using barely half its allotted overs, India beat Zimbabwe by five wickets to win their three-match one-day international cricket series with a game to spare. India scored 167-5 in 25.4 overs at Harare Sports Club in reply to Zimbabwe's 161 all out in 38.1 overs after winning the toss and bowlng first on Saturday. Seamer Shardul Thakur took 3-38 and helped reduce the hosts to 31-4 in the 13th over before Sean Williams (42) and Ryan Burl (39 not out) staged a middle order rally for Zimbabwe. Read:Pakistan’s Afridi to miss T20 Asia Cup and England series In reply India lost skipper KL Rahul in the seond over for one, before veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill both scored 33. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson made a quickfire 43 not out off 39 balls, including three fours and four sixes. He hit the winning six as the visitors reached the target with 146 balls to spare. India has a 2-0 insurmountable lead in the three-match series after winning the opener by 10 wickets. The third ODI is on Monday at the same venue.

Bangladesh T20 captain Shakib Al Hasan Saturday said Bangladesh now need to be like a baby learning to walk, take one step at a time, and then move forward in the shorter format of the game. The Tigers are now preparing for the Asia Cup, starting on August 27 in the UAE. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) already announced a squad for the event. Led by Shakib, Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in the initial phase of the tournament. "We played our first T20 in 2006. Since then, we could not do well in this format. We only made it to the final of the Asia Cup once," Shakib said. Read: Meet Sridharan Sriram: Bangladesh national cricket team’s new T20 technical consultant The BCB appointed Sridharan Sriram, a former Indian cricketer, as the Tigers' T20 technical consultant. He will work with the Bangladesh team until the T20 World Cup. However, Shakib said he is not expecting Sriram to do miracles overnight.

The former Australian national team’s spin bowling coach, who was also a part of IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore’s coaching panel, Sridharan Sriram, has been appointed as technical consultant for the T20 format by the BCB. The BCB president stated that this Indian coach will serve in that position for Bangladesh's national T20 team till the Twenty20 World Cup 2022. Though Sriram may not be a household name among cricket fans, his coaching career has seen considerable success. Let's explore Sridharan Sriram's coaching and cricketing career at the international level. Profile of Sridharan Sriram's Cricket Career The Bangladesh Cricket Board is determined to bring fresh faces to the coaching panel for the T20 format. They have appointed India’s Sridharan Sriram as a technical consultant for the Tigers Twenty20 side. Read: South Africa out for 326, leads England by 161 in 1st Test Russell Domingo's position as the team's head coach is threatened with the appointment of Sriram. However, the BCB president did confirm that Domingo should focus more on the ODI and Test formats. Domingo's participation in the Bangladesh team's trip to the Asia Cup 2022 would probably be determined following the meeting with everyone on August 22, according to BCB president Nazmul Hasan Papon. Here are some of Sridharan Sriram's noteworthy accomplishments, both as a player and a coach. International Career Sridharan Sriram was born in Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India on February 21st, 1976. He made his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu in the 1993/1994 season. He earned his international debut for India against South Africa in an ODI match in 2000 following a stellar season in the Ranji Trophy. Sridharan Sriram had struggled to become a consistent player for the Indian national team. Sriram’s only international half-century (57) came against Bangladesh in his last match for India in 2004. Overall, Sriram appeared in 8 ODIs and made 81 runs in 7 innings. In bowling, he picked up 9 wickets and his best bowling figure was 3/43. Sridharan Sriram’s International cricket career stats   Match Runs HS Wickets BBI 8 81 57 9 3/43    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Coaching Career Sridharan Sriram was appointed as a coaching consultant for the Australian national men’s cricket team’s tour of Bangladesh in 2017. Before that, he worked with Australia's A squad that toured India in 2015. Sriram was part of Australia’s coaching team during the 2018 4-match Test series against India and the 2019 Ashes Series in England. Read: FTP Cycle 2023-2027: Bangladesh National Men’s Cricket Team’s Full Fixtures Apart from the Australian national side, Sriram also worked with an IPL team, Royal Challengers Bangalore. He was Bangalore’s batting and spin bowling coach in the 2020 IPL season. What can Bangladesh expect from Sridharan Sriram? The 2022 T20 World Cup will be held in Australia, a completely unfamiliar condition for most of the Bangladesh players. The cricketers need someone who has good coaching experience in the Australian territory. The Bangladesh Cricket Board made the right decision in hiring Sriram. The BCB’s new T20 technical consultant has plenty of experience through his involvement as a coach with Australia’s national side over the years. He can assist players in quickly adjusting to the Australian conditions in preparation for the upcoming 2022 World Cup. In addition, spinners may learn from him how to bowl well in that region. The Bangladesh players will benefit from Sridharan Sriram's IPL 2020 experience in the UAE by learning valuable lessons from him in preparation for the Asia Cup 2022. Overall, he can help batters bat more productively in the T20 format, and spinners can learn some important lessons that can help them succeed in the upcoming two major competitions. Bottom Line Each of the three cricket formats has a certain mindset required for success at the international level. After working with the Australian national team and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sriram is cognizant of what it takes for a player to be successful in the game's shortest format. Sridharan Sriram can thus provide Bangladesh's players some insightful guidance.

Pakistan suffered a major blow ahead of next week’s Twenty20 Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates when fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was ruled out on Saturday because of a knee injury. The 22-year-old Afridi hurt his right knee while fielding during the first test against Sri Lanka in Galle last month and the Pakistan Cricket Board says its medical advisory committee has advised him to rest for four to six weeks. Afridi will not only miss the Asia Cup, where Pakistan is due to take on arch-rival India, but will also be sidelined for the seven-match T20 home series against England. He is expected to return for the triangular T20 series in New Zealand which will be followed by the T20 World Cup in Australia. Read: South Africa out for 326, leads England by 161 in 1st Test “PCB’s department of sports and exercise medicine will be working closely with the player over the coming weeks to ensure his safe return to competitive cricket,” the board said. The PCB also said Afridi’s replacement for the Asia Cup would be announced in due course. Pakistan is due to arrive in Dubai on Monday after playing the last match of its ODI series against the Netherlands in Rotterdam on Sunday. Pakistan leads the series 2-0.

The International Cricket Council announced its men’s full-member, complete FTP schedule for the 2023–2027 cycle on Wednesday (August 17) in a press release. The biggest takeaway from the announced schedule is the increase in the number of matches across all formats compared to the previous cycle. The 12 full members of the ICC will play a total of 777 international matches in the next cycle, 83 more than in the current cycle. Bangladesh is the biggest gainer, as they will play 150 international matches. The complete FTP schedule of Bangladesh for the 2023–2027 cycle is discussed in this article. Breakdown of 2023-2027 FTP for Bangladesh men’s cricket team The ICC allocated the maximum number of matches for Bangladesh in the 2023–2027 cycle, which is quite surprising. During this cycle, they have been allotted the most ODIs as well as the third most Test and T20I matches. Bangladesh will play 150 international games in total, which are divided into 59 ODIs, 34 Tests, and 57 T20Is. Among the other nations, the West Indies will play 147 international matches, followed by England 142, India 141, New Zealand 135, Australia 132, Sri Lanka 131, Pakistan 130, Afghanistan 123, South Africa 113, Ireland 110, and Zimbabwe 109. Let’s take a look at the year-wise 2023-2027 FTP (Future Tours Programme) cycle for the Bangladesh men’s team. 2023 Bangladesh will play 4 Test matches, at least 9 ODIs and 6 T20Is in the year 2023 of the 2023-2027 cycle. The number of international matches could increase depending on their performance in the Asia Cup 2023. Bangladesh’s FTP for 2023 in the 2023-2027 cycle Matches Opposition Venue 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (June) Afghanistan Home Asia Cup (September) TBD TBD 3 ODIs (September) New Zealand Home 2 Tests (November-December) New Zealand Home 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (December) New Zealand Away Source: Source: https://resources.pulse.icc-cricket.com/ICC/document/2022/08/17/9ecd5af8-4657-475f-ae1e-733b04f69750/Men-s-FTP-upto-2027.pdf Read Asia Cup 2022: 12 Key Players to Watch in the Tournament 2024 Bangladesh have 14 scheduled Test matches in the year 2024, which is a really big number. Besides, they will also play 9 ODIs and 17 T20Is apart from the matches of the Twenty20 World Cup in the USA. Bangladesh’s FTP for 2024 Matches Opposition Venue 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20s (February-March) Sri Lanka Home 2 Tests, 5 T20Is (April) Zimbabwe Home T20 World Cup 2024 TBD USA 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20s (July) Afghanistan Away 2 Tests (August-September) Pakistan Away 2 Tests, 3 T20Is (September-October) India Away 2 Tests (October-November) South Africa Home 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (November-December) West Indies Away 2025 Source: https://resources.pulse.icc-cricket.com/ICC/document/2022/08/17/9ecd5af8-4657-475f-ae1e-733b04f69750/Men-s-FTP-upto-2027.pdf Bangladesh will start their 2025 campaign with the Champions Trophy in February in Pakistan. They will also play a notable number of ODIs and T20Is in that year. Read: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021: Bangladesh Cricket Team’s Full Schedule Bangladesh’s FTP for 2025 Matches Opposition Venue Champions Trophy (February-March) TBD Pakistan 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (March-April) Zimbabwe Home 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (May) Pakistan Away 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (June-July) Sri Lanka Away 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (August) India Home Asia Cup (September) TBD TBD 3 ODIs, 3T20Is (October) West Indies Home 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (November-December) Ireland Home 2026 TSource: Source: Source: https://resources.pulse.icc-cricket.com/ICC/document/2022/08/17/9ecd5af8-4657-475f-ae1e-733b04f69750/Men-s-FTP-upto-2027.pdf he year 2026 will be important for Bangladesh as they will host Australia in June for a bilateral series. Besides, Bangladesh will play in the Twenty20 World Cup in the February-March window. Read Shakib Al Hasan: Expectations from Bangladesh’s T20 captain in Asia Cup 2022 Bangladesh’s FTP for 2026 Matches Opposition Venue T20 World Cup 2026 (February-March) TBD India-Sri Lanka 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (March-April) Pakistan Home 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (April) New Zealand Home 3 ODIs, 3T20Is (June) Australia Home 2 Tests, 3 ODIs (July) Zimbabwe Away 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (August) Ireland Away 2 Tests (October-November) West Indies Home 2 Tests, 3 ODIs (November-December) South Africa Away 2027 Source: Source: Source: https://resources.pulse.icc-cricket.com/ICC/document/2022/08/17/9ecd5af8-4657-475f-ae1e-733b04f69750/Men-s-FTP-upto-2027.pdf Bangladesh’s ICC FTP 2023–2027 will end with a 2-match Test series against England at home in February, followed by a 2-match Test series against Australia away from home in March. Read Asia Cup 2022: SWOT Analysis of Bangladesh National Men’s T20 Cricket Squad Bottom Line As per the announced ICC’s FTP schedule for the 2023-2027 cycle, Bangladesh will be the only full member team to touch the 150-international match mark despite their poor performances in the Test and Twenty20 formats. They will face all the ICC’s full member teams in the upcoming four-year cycle. The Bangladesh national side has to raise their overall performance in these two formats in order to show their progress on the international scene. Besides, Bangladesh will play a good number of ODIs in the next cycle, which will help them to rise in the ICC’s rankings.

South Africa will take a lead of 161 runs into the second innings of the first Test against England at Lord’s. The Proteas resumed on 289-7 and were bowled out for 326 after an hour’s play on Day 3, with Stuart Broad taking a wonder-catch before cleaning up the tail with two wickets on Friday. Broad leaped backward and took a one-handed catch at wide mid-on to remove Kagiso Rabada for 3 off the third ball of the day, bowled by Matt Potts, then got edges into the slip cordon to account for Marco Jansen (48) and Lungi Ngidi (0). Read: Asia Cup 2022: Who are favourites to lift the trophy? Anrich Nortje was stranded on 28 not out.   England, which was bowled out for 165 early on the second day, has won four straight Test matches under the new leadership team of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has hired ex-Indian cricketer Sridharan Sriram as the technical consultant to the team for T20Is ahead of the Asia Cup starting on August 27 in the UAE. Nazmul Hasan, the president of BCB, said Sridharan will work with the Bangladesh team till the T20 World Cup that will take place later this year in Australia. Sridharan has the experience of coaching several teams in the domestic circuit. He is coming to Dhaka this week to discuss his role with the Bangladesh team, Nazmul added. Also readNaim hits a ton as Bangladesh A beat West Indies A “Sridharan is coming this week,” Nazmul said on Friday. “He is coming as the technical consultant for T20Is only. And he will work till the T20 World Cup. He has the experience of working with high-grade T20 teams.” Sridharan is expected to arrive in Dhaka on Sunday, UNB has learnt. The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer played only eight ODIs for India. He has vast experience in playing first-class cricket where he has 32 centuries and a total of 9,539 runs. Sridharan has the experience of coaching Indian Premier League teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab. He also worked as a spin-bowling coach for Australia. Also read: Asia Cup 2022: 12 Key Players to Watch in the Tournament It’s not confirmed who will play the role of the head coach of the Bangladesh team in the Asia Cup. Nazmul said they are yet to finalise the head coach for this event. “We will decide everything on August 22,” Nazmul said. “Domingo will remain Bangladesh’s coach in the T20 World Cup in Australia. But who will be the coach in Asia Cup is yet to be finalised.” The BCB also wanted to appoint a coach who has the speciality in improving power-hitting ability. But Nazmul Hasan, the president of BCB, said Jamie Siddons will play this role for now. “We discussed appointing a power-hitting coach,” Nazmul told the media on Thursday. “But Jamie said he is experienced in this field. Not on this Asia Cup, we are focussing on the T20 World Cup that will be played in Australia. It’s always tough for us to perform in Australia. So we are looking forward to making some changes in this Asia Cup. It won’t be right to think we appoint a coach hastily and he starts delivering.” The Asia Cup 2022 will be played in the UAE. In the first phase of this event, Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh has already announced a squad for the Asia Cup under the leadership of Shakib Al Hasan.

In the second unofficial one-day match, Bangladesh A beat their West Indian counterparts by 44 runs at the Gros Islet on Thursday. Opener Mohammad Naim hit a hundred in this match. He made a great comeback after he was dismissed for a duck in the first match.  Sabbir Rahman, the out-of-form batter, hit 62. Riding on the batting performances of these two, Bangladesh posted a total of 277 for six.  Read:West Indies A beat Bangladesh in 1st one-day For West Indies A, Anderson Phillip, Shermon Lewis and Bryan Charles bagged two wickets each.  In reply, Joshua Da Silva, the captain of West Indies A, scored 68 but that was not enough for them to avoid a defeat. They tumbled for 233 for nine in 50 overs.  For Bangladesh, pacer Mukidul Islam scalped three wickets conceding 32 runs in nine overs while Rejaur Rahman Raja bagged two wickets.  The third and final unofficial one-day match on August 20 now becomes a series decider.

The second edition of the Asia Cup cricket tournament in the twenty20 format will get underway on August 27 in the UAE. The final game in Dubai on September 11 will mark the end of the 16-day Asia Cup 2022 competition. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and the winner of the qualifier tournament will compete in the main event. Let's take a look at the players who can have a significant influence on their teams during the Asia Cup 2022 competition. 12 players to keep an eye on at the 2022 Asia Cup The Asia Cup 2022 will feature some of the top cricketers in the world competing for their respective countries. These players have the power to alter a game's scenario on their own. Here are the top 12 players to keep an eye on during the fifteenth Asian Cup of cricket. Mustafizur Rahman T20I bowling stats since January 2021: M: 28 | Wkts: 33 | BBI: 4/12 | Ave: 20.75 | Econ: 7.32 Left-arm medium pacer Mustafizur Rahman will lead Bangladesh’s bowling attack in the Asia Cup 2022. So, there is an added expectation for Mustafizur to unleash his true potential during the tournament. He is a very effective pacer in Asian conditions as his cutter delivery works really well in this part of the world. Besides, Mustafizur has been Bangladesh’s most successful T20 bowler since 2021. Will he be able to live up to the hype in the upcoming competition? Read Shakib Al Hasan: Expectations from Bangladesh’s T20 captain in Asia Cup 2022 Mohammad Nabi T20I batting stats since January 2021: M: 17 | Runs: 306 | HS: 43* | Ave: 27.81 | SR: 127.50 T20I bowling stats since January 2021: M: 17 | Wkts: 11 | BBI: 2/15 | Ave: 30.09 | Econ: 8.07 Afghanistan’s veteran cricketer, Mohammad Nabi, is currently the world's No. 1 all-rounder in the T20 format. He is a genuine breakthrough bowler and a very dangerous power hitter in the middle-order. Nabi hasn’t been in his best form lately. The Afghan team wants Nabi to find his rhythm during the Asia Cup main event. Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva T20I batting stats since January 2021: M: 25 | Runs: 259 | HS: 71 | Ave: 13.63 | SR: 122.16 T20I bowling stats since January 2021: M: 25 | Wkts: 46 | BBI: 4/9 | Ave: 12.67 | Econ: 6.13 One of the exciting young talents in the world is Sri Lanka’s spin bowling all-rounder, Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva. He is the second highest wicket-taker (46) in the Twenty20 format since January 2021, with an economy rate of 6.13. This stat speaks for itself about how lethal Wanindu Hasaranga is with his leg spin. Hasaranga also has power hitting ability and can accelerate the run rates lower down the order. This highly talented Lankan has the potential to be one of the most valuable players in the tournament. Read Asia Cup 2022: Who are favourites to lift the trophy? Rashid Khan T20I bowling stats since January 2021: M: 17 | Wkts: 22 | BBI: 4/9 | Ave: 18.40 | Econ: 6.39 Arguably the best T20 bowler in the world is Afghanistan’s leg-spin wizard, Rashid Khan. He is currently the best-ranked Asian bowler and overall third in the ICC’ rankings. Rashid will definitely be one of the most important players in the upcoming fifteenth edition of the Asia Cup. If he is in his best form, Afghanistan can surprise the big teams in their quest for the final. Suryakumar Yadav T20I batting stats since January 2021: M: 23 | Runs: 672 | HS: 117 | Ave: 37.33 | SR: 175.45 India’s present T20 batting sensation is middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav. He is in the second position in the ICC’s T20 batting rankings and is only 13 rating points shy of No. 1 Babar Azam. Suryakumar Yadav will be a vital player for the Indian side to construct important partnerships in the innings. He is one of the favourites to be the leading run scorer of the tournament. Shaheen Shah Afridi T20I bowling stats since January 2021: M: 22 | Wkts: 25 | BBI: 3/26 | Ave: 24.80 | Econ: 7.73 Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan's left-arm pacer, is one of the top bowlers in the world right now. His ability to give early breakthroughs will be crucial for the Pakistan team during the competition. Shaheen will lead the Pakistan bowling attack during the competition. A lot will depend on Afridi in the case of Pakistan’s chances in the 2022 Asia Cup competition. Read Asia Cup 2022: What could Bangladesh’s squad look like? Hardik Pandya T20I batting stats since January 2021: M: 24 | Runs: 446 | HS: 51 | Ave: 29.73 | SR: 139.81 T20I bowling stats since January 2021: M: 24 | Wkts: 12 | BBI: 4/33 | Ave: 34.50 | Econ: 8.11 Hardik Pandya is probably the most effective lower middle-order batter from Asia. In other words, he is the best No. 7 batter at the moment in the sub-continent. Therefore, Hardik has a lot of importance in the Indian team as a power-hitter in the death overs. Pandya is also a very effective medium pacer, especially in the middle overs. Mohammad Rizwan T20I batting stats since January 2021: M: 30 | Runs: 1349 | HS: 104* | Ave: 71.00 | SR: 134.63 Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan is currently ranked no. 3 in the ICC’s batting rankings. He tops the list of most run scorers in the T20 format with 1,349 since January 2021. The Rizwan-Babar opening pair is arguably the best in the world in the Twenty20 format at the moment. The rest of the opponents will have a difficult time competing against Pakistan if this pair can get into their finest form. Dasun Shanaka T20I batting stats since January 2021: M: 28 | Runs: 532 | HS: 74* | Ave: 29.55 | SR: 122.29 Pathum Nissanka is probably the most reliable batter for the Lankan side. However, the way Dasun Shanaka has batted this year is just simply outstanding. He has made 308 runs in 11 innings with a strike rate of 145.28 this year. Sri Lanka would have a better chance of winning the championship if he could maintain his strong batting performance in the forthcoming tournament. Read Asia Cup 2022 Schedule: Groups, full fixtures, venues Rohit Sharma T20I batting stats since January 2021: M: 24 | Runs: 714 | HS: 74 | Ave: 31.04 | SR: 146.31  India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, is yet to lose a series after being appointed as a permanent captain of the format earlier this year. Rohit has a good reputation as a captain and his batting can be destructive at times. If Rohit shines with the bat, then the rest of the teams will surely find it difficult to stop India. The charismatic Indian captain is more than capable of leading his team to victory on his own and is committed to bringing home the eighth Asia Cup title for his nation. Babar Azam T20I batting stats since January 2021: M: 30 | Runs: 1005 | HS: 122 | Ave: 38.65 | SR: 128.51 Arguably the best batter in the world across all formats, Pakistan’s Babar Azam is currently ranked no. 1 in the ICC’s batting rankings. He is in the form of his life with the bat and can be a nightmare for the opposition during the competition. Babar’s commanding batting display could help Pakistan win this year’s Asia Cup tournament. Shakib Al Hasan T20I batting stats since January 2021: M: 23 | Runs: 443 | HS: 68* | Ave: 21.09 | SR: 111.58 T20I bowling stats since January 2021: M: 23 | Wkts: 29 | BBI: 4/9 | Ave: 17.93 | Econ: 6.29 Bangladesh’s newly appointed Twenty20 captain and world No. 2 all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will be determined to do well in the competition. Though Shakib’s recent form hasn’t been so impressive, there is no doubt about his ability as a player. Who can forget Shakib’s magnificent outing in the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup? If he can repeat that performance all through the competition, Bangladesh will have a decent chance of making it to the Asia Cup final. Read Asia Cup 2022: SWOT Analysis of Bangladesh National Men’s T20 Cricket Squad Bottom Line The top teams in the subcontinent will give it their all to win the Asia Cup 2022 event. Therefore, each team's prominent players will be very important during the major event. The above mentioned players have the potential to have an impact on their teams. These renowned cricketers are also serious candidates for the player of the tournament award. In addition to them, each squad has other key players who have the potential to step up and play vital roles for their respective teams. The team with the right balance and strength in each department is likely to advance to the competition's final.