Asia Cup 2022 Preview

Asia Cup 2022 will be played in UAE from August 27, 2022. This year's tournament will be played in the T20 format and will be played as a practice tournament for the ICC World T20 Cup.

Let's look at the teams and how they can fare in the tournament.

India

The Men in blue are the team with the most number of Asia Cup wins in history with 7 titles to their name. The Indian team has one of the most intimidating batting lineups in the world, and they certainly have the best batting lineup in this tournament with Rohit Sharma, KL Rahu, and Virat Kohli forming the crux of the lineup as the top 3. They also have some quality allrounders, like, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja who can change the course of the match with both bat and ball. On the bowling front, Jasprit Bumrah's absence is undoubtedly a big blow, but the management does not have to worry much, as the Indian team has many quality bowlers at their disposal; Mohammed Shami's absence from the squad despite being fully fit shows the quality of the Indian bowiing. They also have the rejuvenated Dinesh Karthik who can take the game away from the opposition in just 4-5 overs. This will also be the first major tournament for Rohit Sharma as the full captain (He already led India to Asia Cup victory in 2018 when he was standing in for Virat Kohli). India starts the tournament as the favorites as they have all the bases covered.

Sri Lanka

The Lankan tigers are the second most successful team in the Asia Cup history with 5 titles to their name. The Sri Lankan team looks a pale shadow of themselves as they do not have enough firepower in their batting to challenge the top teams. Their batting heavily relies on the top order - Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, and Bhanuka Rajapaksa. The loss of Dushmantha Chameera has further depleted their chances of winning the title. Although Wanindu Hasaranga has been quite successful in the Limited over formats, he needs support from the other end to have any chances of defeating the big teams. Dasun Shanaka is having his best year in 2022, but other than that there have not been many positives for the Srilankan team going into the Asia Cup. They should be able to make it to the Super 4 unless Afghanistan springs a surprise on the Lankan Tigers.

Pakistan

Pakistan has surprisingly not had a great success in Asia Cup. They have only 2 Asia Cup titles with their last title coming way back in 2012 when they survived a scare from Bangladesh in the final. Their top order is one of the best with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as openers and Fakhar Zaman walking in at 3; their middle order is relatively inexperienced and could be tested if the top order fails to fire. Their best bowler in the last couple of seasons has been Shaheen Shah Afridi, and his loss will leave a big void in their bowling lineup. Hasan Ali was initially not included in the squad but is back along with Mohammad Hasnain after the loss of Afridi and Mohammad Wasim. Pakistan has an outside chance of winning the Asia Cup title, but they have to overcome the strong Indian team to do so.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh has not won any Asia Cup titles in its history. The Bangla tigers came very close to winning the title in 2012 but lost to the eventual winners Pakistan. Like Sri Lanks, their batting also lacks the firepower for T20 matches, and the loss of Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das due to retirement and injury, respectively. Their record in T20 has not been great in recent times, and they recently lost a T20 and ODI series against Zimbabwe. They are coming into Asia Cup with a new captain in Shakib Al Hasan replacing Mohammad Mahmudullah. Shakib is very important on both batting and bowling fronts if Bangladesh has to put any fight against the big teams like India or Pakistan. They can make it to Super 4 along with Sri Lanka in Group B but will be challenged by Afghanistan in that group.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan has come a long in international cricket, and can now be considered as a team that can defeat any team on their day. Their batting barring Najibullah Zadran does not infuse much confidence. On the bowling front, they have one of the best spin bowling attacks comprising Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb ur Rahman and rookie Noor Ahmed, but their pace attack is not so good. It will be a 3-way battle in group B to make it to Super 4, and Afghanistan has some bright chances of making it to Super 4 if they can overcome the challenge from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is slotted in Group A along with India and Pakistan. They have emerged as winners in the Asia Cup Qualifier stage. They have some young talent like Ehsan Khan, Ayush Shukla, Babar Hyatt, and Yasim Murtaza. They don't have a realistic chance of making it to the Super 4 with both India and Pakistan looking the favorites to finish as the top 2 in group A.