Babar Azam's Pakistan to wear black arm bands in tonight's Asia Cup clash vs India, here's why

Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali has joined Men in Green squad in Dubai. He is replacement for injured Mohammad Wasim, who hurt his back during nets session.

Source: Twitter

The epic battle between India and Pakistan will start in a couple of hours. The two cricketing giants and neigbouring countries are meeting each other after a gap of almost one year. The last time these sides met each other was at the T20 World Cup 2022. In that game, Pakistan had outplayed and outclassed India by 10 wickets, denting their World Cup chances. India will be eyeing a revenge in their opening contest in Asia Cup 2022. This is a different Team India and a new captain in Rohit Sharma. 

On the other hand, Babar Azam's Pakistan will too be pumped up, although their star bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi is missing in this big match due to a knee injury. Mohammad Wasim, another pacer, was ruled out of the contest and Hasan Ali has flown in from Pakistan and has joined the squad in Dubai as his replacement. However, chances of him playing today's game is less.

The Men in Green will be wearing a black arm band on their sleeves in tonight's clash vs India. This is to show their solidarity for the Pakistani critizens back home. Pakistan is facing one of their worst floods in the history of the country, with more than 1,000 lives lost. Not to forget, more than 5 lakh houses have been destroyed and over a billion cattle deaths have been registered. 

Babar Azam's side will be paying respect to the lives lost, giving solidarity to the people back home amid the huge crisis. 

The Asia Cup 2022 includes 6 teams. They are : India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, UAE and Bangladesh. The next round os Super 4 and it expected that India and Pakistan will meet each other again on September 4 (Sunday). The top 2 from this round will then meet each other in the final. There is a high chance India and Pakistan may play each other not once, but thrice in the tournament.