India vs Pakistan: Five players to watch out for

The time has almost arrived for the much-awaited blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup tournament on Sunday. And what adds to its thrill is that the contest will be played at the same venue, the Dubai International Stadium, where Babar Azam's men had scripted a historic 10-wicket win against the Men in Blue last October in the 2021 T20 World Cup tie. India do have an overwhelming edge over Pakistan in Asia Cup meetings besides their 12-match winning streak in the tournament history, but Pakistan's recent win in Dubai has been the cynosure in the build-up to this high-octane clash. And ahead of the blockbuster clash we take a look at the five players to watch out for in the India versus Pakistan tie.

Here are five players to watch out for in the blockbuster India vs Pakistan clash in Asia Cup.

Virat Kohli: Ardent fans would deny if one would say that the entire focus will be on Kohli. Making a comeback after a deserving break, Kohli has been touted to return to his dominating best. And the Pakistan clash sets just the perfect platform for the former India captain, who remains the highest run-getter against the arch-rivals in T20I format. Moreover, he has managed to score at least a half-century in four of his last five meetings with Pakistan.

Babar Azam: Shahid Afridi, in a recent Q&A session on Twitter hailed the Pakistan captain as the "backbone" of their batting. You remove him and suddenly, the line-up looks shaky. Hence, the pressure will be immense on the No.1 ranked ICC T20I batter to give Pakistan the perfect start and build an impressive innings, emulating his performance at the very same venue against India last October.

Rohit Sharma: The Pakistan tie will mark the beginning of the first big challenge for Rohit as the captain of the Indian team. He had led India to Asia Cup win in 2018 with a second-string side, but the pressure of this tournament will be a tad different with the Men in Blue hoping to make a perfect impression with their plans before they set for their journey Down Under for the T20 World Cup. Hence, not just his batting, but Rohit's captaincy will be the point of focus in the game as well.

Mohammad Rizwan: The wicketkeeper-batter has played a perfect supporting role to Babar in Pakistan's top-order batting. And he will once again be responsible for easing the pressure on the captain by emulating his show in Dubai in the 2021 T20 World Cup meeting with India.

Suryakumar Yadav: Every time an expert was asked about a player to watch out for in the Indian T20I set-up, most, if not all, snubbed Kohli and Rohit to pick this new superstar of Indian batting. In fact, the great Ricky Ponting compared Suryakumar with the legendary AB de Villiers owing to his similar 360-degree style batting. And the India batter's recent rise to supremacy in T20I cricket, which includes a century in England, has taken him to the second spot in world rankings, placing him only a few points behind Babar.