Dubai: Overwhelming favourites will be an understatement to define the Suryakumar Yadav-led India given the gulf between them and the seven other nations, including a mercurial Pakistan, when the battle for continental supremacy unfolds at the Asia Cup T20 tournament on Tuesday.
The action will begin with Afghanistan taking on Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi, but all eyes will be on Dubai, where a star-studded Indian team will be aiming to crush United Arab Emirates in its opener on Wednesday.
In a tournament that has often served as a dress rehearsal for the T20 World Cup, the Asia Cup this time comes with a sense of inevitability.
The weight of expectations is on the Indian team, not merely because of its pedigree but also because the balance of power has tilted decisively in its favour.
India, for all their internal debates and external expectations, look like the one side that has clarity of purpose. And clarity, in high-pressure tournaments, often counts for more than raw talent. If one takes into account leadership, and sheer depth of talent, then this is India’s tournament to lose.
Such has been the confidence that chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir didn’t for once entertain the idea of picking a 17-member squad allowed by the Asian Cricket Council. Instead, they picked 15 like they do for ICC events even if it meant keeping out players like Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Winning the continental showpiece for the ninth time (seven in ODI format and one in T20 format in 2016) would neither earn Suryakumar or head coach Gautam Gambhir any extra credit. But anything short of trophy would invite criticism given that the T20 World Cup is set to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in four and half months’ time.
Suryakumar and his colleagues have around 20 games (if they reach Asia Cup final) before the global event starts. Getting the core combination right would be a major goal for the side. India is such a powerhouse that at this point BCCI has the ability to field three national T20 teams of equal strength.
Suryakumar has been a phenomenal skipper so far with an astounding 80 per cent win record but now the leadership group will have vice-captain Shubman Gill, who is expected to take charge from the Mumbaikar in due course of time.
The broader storyline of the Asia Cup is therefore less about who can win it and more about who can stop India.
Their depth dwarfs Pakistan’s transitional experiment and Sri Lanka’s rebuilt side. Salman Ali Agha’s Pakistan team bears a young and fresh look. The dropping of Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan is PCB’s clearest admission yet that reputations cannot hold a team hostage.