Someone had perhaps got their wires crossed, their dates mixed up. The inaugural match of the 2025 T20 Asia Cup was a little over six hours away in Abu Dhabi, a two-hour drive from the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. And yet, Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Yasim Murtaza of Hong Kong were among the eight captains at the pre-tournament media conference on Tuesday afternoon, at the end of which they would travel to Abu Dhabi for their evening showdown. Hardly the best preparation for the inaugural game of cricket’s continental showpiece event.
“I don’t think it’s ideal to play a game in Abu Dhabi and stay in Dubai,” Rashid, the pixie leg-spinner who is the face of Afghanistan cricket, conceded. “But as a cricketer, you have to accept it. You have to be mentally prepared, it is about being professional. It’s important to keep doing the best we can and set everything else aside.”
The captains pose with the Asia Cup trophy.
| Photo Credit:
Asian Cricket Council
It would have been interesting to hear Murtaza’s viewpoint on the subject but clearly, and without any disrespect, the Hong Kong skipper isn’t in the same league as his Afghan counterpart. It’s difficult to see Murtaza holding a contrarian opinion. Hong Kong are the little brother trying to make a game fist of it against the big boys in Group B, the Group of Death, which is completed by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
If Rashid and Murtaza had a long drive on another sweltering day with the mercury hovering around the 43-degree Celsius mark, spare a thought for Charith Asalanka’s Sri Lanka. They played back-to-back T20Is against Zimbabwe in Harare on Saturday and Sunday, flew out of the Zimbabwean capital on Monday and arrived in Dubai just hours before the press conference.
The skipper was asked how, after this play-play-travel routine, his side would prepare for the battles ahead. Asalanka’s face gave his fatigue away but in case anyone had not noticed, he added for good measure, “I’m sleepy right now. I should answer it tomorrow, I think.”
Asalanka broke into a guffaw as he uttered these words, seeking to take any edge off his remarks. He hoped the coach (Sanath Jayasuriya) would give the team a couple of days off – Sri Lanka don’t play their opening game until Saturday, against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi. Are you listening, Sanath?
Suryakumar Yadav attends a practice session in Dubai.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
The proceedings of the well-attended press conference were followed with unblinking attention by the assembled media corps eager to see what, if any, interactions Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Agha would engage in. There has been a massive hue and cry in various quarters back in India about the cricket team playing against Pakistan in light of the heinous attack on Indian tourists in Pahalgam on April 22. The Indian and Pakistani captains kept their own counsel, only exchanging a cursory shake of the hand at the conclusion of the press conference. Clearly, they must have felt the weight of the world on their shoulders, an unfair burden to carry for professional sportspersons, many will insist.
Whether the two captains, and their teams, like it or not, this subtext is certain to keep surfacing over at least the next 12 days. India are scheduled to meet Pakistan in a Group A fixture in Dubai on Sunday, and if both teams advance to the Super Fours, will lock horns again the following Sunday (September 21). In case they fulfil the organisers’ and the broadcasters’ dream and make it through to the final, they will do battle for a third time in as many Sundays, on September 28. But what is it they say about the best laid plans of men and mice…?
In a rare forward-thinking move, the Asian Cricket Council decided in 2016 that the Asia Cup would be played in the same format as the World Cup to follow. That’s why the 2016 and 2022 editions in Bangladesh and the UAE respectively were 20-over affair affairs, as preparation for the imminent World Cups in India and Australia. The T20 feel to the 17th edition is in deference to the World Cup in India and Sri Lanka early next year. While the Asia Cup ought to be an end in itself, it is also a means to an end and few can argue with that because there is no greater prize in the cricketing landscape than a World Cup of any hue.
Interestingly enough, Pakistan, Afghanistan and local favourites UAE used a tri-series that ended in Sharjah on Sunday as a preparatory exercise for the Asia Cup, which has now in turn become the first step in firming up plans for the World Cup. It’s not that the Asia Cup lacks context in its own right, but given the purpose many feel it is intended to achieve, it assumes even greater significance.
That might be the view from the outside but amongst the eight teams, the thinking is bound to be different. Will many of them be thinking about the World Cup? Sure. But will that tournament, five-plus months into the future, override the present? Will everything the continental giants do here be only geared towards the mega faceoff? One suspects not.
India, Oman and Hong Kong apart, the other five teams have had a hectic run-in to the Asia Cup. That can cut both ways – either they will be energised by re-familiarising themselves with the challenges of 20-over international cricket, or they will be more than a little fatigued. Conversely, from an Indian perspective, because of the long break most have had since the end of the IPL in early June, the players are either well rested and raring to go, or they are carrying residual rust that no amount of time in the nets alone will erode. Double-edged swords, constant match-play and extended rest, both. As ever, the outcome will dictate the wisdom of the build-up.
What’s happened is in the past, beyond anyone’s control, irrevocable and unchangeable. In competitive, professional sport, there is no scope for excuses and it is doubtful that, should things go south, India will resort to excuses. Morne Morkel, the bowling coach, acknowledged the absence of game-time, adding in the same breath, “It’s just making sure when we do the work in our training, we step it up, make sure we train at a certain intensity. Once you put the Indian shirt on, from there, it’s about getting ready for match-battle. I’m pretty sure once they step over the line, these guys will be ready to go and play and put on a solid performance for the team.”
The sub-plots
Beyond the chance to keep themselves in contention for the World Cup, there are other targets to aspire for, especially for the established comeback duo of Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah. Gill’s return to the T20I ecosystem after 13 months, and that too as Suryakumar’s deputy, provides an insight into the decision-makers’ inclination towards having an all-format captain in place sometime next year. The Test captain is coming off a mountain of runs (754) in England and would perhaps have been better off preparing for the two-Test home series against West Indies starting on October 2 (just three days after the Asia Cup final). But now that he is here, he will feel the need to strike up a terrific working relationship with Punjab teammate Abhishek Sharma, the left-handed opener.
Gill had formed a grand combine with Yashasvi Jaiswal in Zimbabwe last July when he led India to a 4-1 triumph in the immediacy of the World Cup success, but since the tour of Sri Lanka that same month, neither has played a T20I. Jaiswal must count himself a little unfortunate; in his absence, Abhishek has made a compelling case for his continued presence with blazing hundreds in Harare and at home against England. Gill and Abhishek have spent a lot of time together, though not a lot of it has been in the Indian dressing room. But they share an excellent understanding and that should help them click as a pair. In some ways, Abhishek-Gill will be a lot like Rohit-Gill; like the former captain, Abhishek loves taking the aerial route while Gill is more the four-hitter in the early stages though as he has shown in the last couple of seasons of the IPL, he can also clear the biggest of boundaries with consummate ease.
Alongside Gill, Bumrah’s exploits too will be followed keenly. In his last T20I appearances, Bumrah was unplayable, amalgamating 15 wickets (the joint second-highest in the tournament) with a ridiculously astonishing economy rate of 4.17 in the World Cup. Among the 20 bowlers with at least ten wickets, the next most parsimonious bowler was South African quick Anrich Nortje, who conceded 5.74 runs per over on an average. Bumrah broke the final against South Africa wide open by conceding just six runs in his last two overs (16th and 18th of the run chase) for the wicket of Marco Jansen. The squeeze he applied was superbly complemented by Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh, and by Suryakumar, whose stunning last-over running catch at long-off to pack off David Miller was the final twist in a match full of undulating twists and furiously pendulous swings. The Player of the Tournament award was merely the icing on the cake.
India have kept Bumrah in T20 cotton wool since then with good reason. His chronic troublesome back has dictated that India choose Bumrah’s battles with care and consideration. In the homestretch leading in to the World Cup, his presence in T20Is is more imperative than in any other format, more so considering India’s four Tests between now and their title defence will all be at home where Bumrah can afford to put his feet up, if it comes to that.
More than anyone else, including their mercurial captain, an on-song Bumrah (we haven’t seen a lot of the not-on-song Bumrah, to be honest) changes the dynamics inexorably. The Asia Cup is as good a stage as any for the T20 beast in Bumrah to rediscover itself.