Poll: Will India lift the Asia Cup T20?

The Asia Cup T20 will be held in Bangladesh from 24 February to 6 March 2016. It will be the 13th edition of the tournament, the fifth to be held in Bangladesh, and the first to be played using the T20 format. Along with the hosts Bangladesh and the defending champions Sri Lanka, the tourney will include India, Pakistan, and one Associate team, to be determined through a qualifier which is currently underway.

The Men in Blue are firm favourites having recently white-washed Australia in their own backyard and defeated Sri Lanka side at home going into the event. India’s top order batting is in rollicking form at the moment and is justifiably regarded as one of the best in the world. Rohit Sharma and Shikar Dhawan are scoring runs every game and the return of the run-machine Virat Kohli, who was rested for the three T20Is against Sri Lanka, will further strengthen the team. The likes of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh are proven match winners on their day while skipper MS Dhoni and all-rounder Hardik Pandya are capable of producing big hits at will. India’s bench strength can be judged from the fact that someone of the calibre of Ajinkya Rahane may find it difficult to make it to the playing eleven.

India’s bowling looks sharp and has all bases covered. Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah have bowled brilliantly with the new ball and also at the death. Just a few days ago Nehra had jokingly reminded Bumrah that the young Gujarat fast bowler was five when he made his international debut in 1999. That Nehra is still playing for India speaks volumes of his perseverance.

Pandya has proved that has the potential to become the seam bowling all-rounder India has been searching since a very long time. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are world class spinners while Yuvi proved in the two recent series that he hasn’t lost his magic with the ball. Overall India will be hard to stop on current form and confidence.

India will surely be challenged by other teams and won’t have it easy. It is hard to predict anything associated with Pakistan cricket. They can be mercurial on a day and absolutely abysmal on another. Most of the Pakistani players are in good touch after a highly successful PSL. The shortest format has always been Pakistan’s shining point, however, having said that even their T20I form has been poor in last one year. But with Shahid Afridi playing his last couple of months in international cricket, he might have something in the store while his team’s bowling will be the trump card.

With Lasith Malinga and Angelo Matthews coming back, the two will provide the much-needed experience and will be key to Sri Lanka’s chances. Most of the players in the team are unknown and might surprise a few opponents. The likes of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dinesh Chandimal will need to be in top gear if the team is to do well with the bat.

Playing at home Bangladesh need to win a major competition and this is their biggest opportunity. In the past, they have come close to winning the Asia Cup but failed to cross the finishing line. Shorter format and the recent form of some of their key players like Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and skipper Mashrafe Mortaza is encouraging. The competition should provide fascinating cricket and we let the fans cast their votes about India’s chances.
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