India-Pak to clash in Asia Cup on Feb 27

The Indian cricket team will start its Asia Cup campaign against Bangladesh on February 24 before taking on arch-rivals Pakistan in what promises to be a high- voltage encounter on February 27.

The 11-match tournament, which will be played in the Twenty20 format this year, will be held in Mirpur from February 24 to March 6.

India will play their third match on March 3 against a yet-to-be-decided qualifier, ‘ESPNCricinfo’ reported.

The last Indo-Pak cricket clash happened in 2015 during the ODI World Cup and efforts to revive bilateral cricket between the two sides have not worked out so far owing to the blow hot blow cold political ties. After the preliminary Asia Cup clash, India and Pakistan could come face to face for the second time in the tournament if they make the March 6 final.

Sri Lanka are the most consistent performers in the event, which has traditionally been played in the ODI format.