Asia Cup 2016: Five things to look forward to at the tournament

But, let’s have a brief look at the things you should keep an eye out for at the Asia Cup which concludes on 6th March.

T20 Format

Taking note of the World T20 right after, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) – the organising body of the Asia Cup – decided to play the tournament based on the World Cup succeeding it. Keeping that in mind, 2016 Asia Cup will be the first tournament to be played in a T20 avatar. All 12 editions of the tournaments before this have been played in 50 over format.

Clean slate

India and Sri Lanka have won the Asia Cup five times each – the most for any team. But with the change in format, everything comes to nought when a ball is bowled. This time, there is no defending champion either in the technical sense of things. With how T20 matches are and how they’re played, you can’t rule out any team to spring in a surprise.

India versus Pakistan humdinger

In cricket, there is the Ashes and there is the India-Pakistan rivalry. Both draw huge crowds but arguably with the Indo-Pak rivalry, there is a lot more sentiment involved and it is safe to say that when the neighbours ‘clash’, everything else comes to a stop. Even though Pakistan have failed to beat India in an ICC event, their record is much more encouraging in the Asia Cup. The head-to-head stands at 5 wins apiece and on 27th February, one of the two will take the lead and take home some much appreciated bragging rights.

Eyes on Pawan Negi

The shock selection for the Asia Cup and World T20 came in the form of left-arm spinner Pawan Negi who has never played an international game before. So much so, he has played only three first-class matches. His experience so far has only been at the cash-rich Indian Premier League. And to go with his team selection was a fat paycheque of Rs. 8.5 crore as Delhi Daredevils splashed the cash for the rookie. Surely his inclusion has his then-CSK captain MS Dhoni’s recommendation written all over him?

Bangladesh come good in T20

Hosts Bangladesh have beaten India, South Africa, Pakistan and Zimbabwe in the past year at home. While that is a reason enough to celebrate, their form has not transcended into the T20 format. With Asia Cup being converted into the shortest format of the game, Bangladesh need to get into the game much quicker than they otherwise do if they harbour any hopes of winning the tournament after a heartbreaking loss in the 2012 Asia Cup final.