India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2022: Not Virat Kohli but THIS is most ‘dangerous’ Indian batter, says Wasim Akram

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Everyone is waiting with bated breath for the explosive clash between neighbours India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 tournament, which will take place on Sunday (August 28) in Dubai. Former Pakistan captain and pacer Wasim Akram said that star Indian batsman Suryakumar Yadav will be crucial for the team and have the potential to hurt Pakistan more than Virat Kohli.

In 23 T20I matches, Suryakumar has smashed 672 runs at an average of 37.33 with five fifties and a very recent hundred – 117 in a closely-fought match against England at The Oval and is currently No. 2-ranked batter behind Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. India will be starting their Asia Cup 2022 campaign with a high-octane clash against Pakistan on August 28.

Asia Cup 2022 will be played in UAE, starting from August 27 through September 11. “Of course, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli are there, but one of my favourite players these days, in this shorter format is Suryakumar Yadav. He has been phenomenal. I saw him the first year when he joined the Kolkata Knight Riders and he played a couple of games batting at No. 7 and 8. And a couple of shots he played – the one that he picks from the middle of his bat towards fine leg – that’s an unusual and difficult shot to muster,” Wasim Akram said in a press conference organised by Star Sports on Tuesday.

Tonight we're discussing batting royalty - @imVkohli!

Don't miss the King Kohli special as we build up to his th T20I appearance on #Gameplan:

Tonight, 11 PM | Repeat: Tomorrow, 11 AM | Star Sports Network pic.twitter.com/s3UwinpEmZ — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) August 22, 2022

Coming to the Asia Cup, the 15th edition of the tournament will be played in the UAE between six teams (main event). Defending champions India are also the most successful team, having won the trophy seven times. While the last edition of the tournament was held in an ODI format, this edition will feature the T20 format.

The six teams are divided into two groups with India, Pakistan and a qualifying team in Group A; and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan forming Group B. Each team plays the other once in the group stage with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Super 4 round. The top 2 teams from Super 4 will qualify for the final.

India 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.

(with ANI inputs)