Image Credit- ICC

With India and Pakistan squaring off in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022, the whole spotlight is on both Virat Kohli and Pakistan captain Babar Azam

Former cricketers Ravi Shastri and Wasim Akram addressed a virtual interaction where they talked about the upcoming India vs Pakistan match taking place in Dubai on August 28th

India and Pakistan both suffered a huge blow as their strike bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Afridi were ruled out of Asia Cup 2022 with injuries.

PCB has announced Mohammad Hasnain as Shaheen Afridi’s replacement, whereas for Team India Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma’s return to the side will be a big boost

All eyes will be on Virat Kohli as he looks to regain his form. He was rested for both Zimbabwe and West Indies tours and many experts and fans have high hopes he is going to return to form in Asia Cup 2022.

With India and Pakistan squaring off, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam will be in the spotlight.

Former cricketers Ravi Shastri and Wasim Akram addressed a virtual interaction where they talked about the upcoming contest

“It (comparisons) is natural. When we played, I remember people used to compare Inzamam-ul-Haq with Rahul Dravid, and Sachin Tendulkar, before that it was Javed Miandad-Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath-Zaheer Abbas.

“It is only natural, like you said Babar has been very consistent in all three formats because he has got the right technique, that is why he has been so consistent. He enjoys his batting; he gets runs and is still pretty hungry.” Akram added

“He is physically fit, he is still young and of course, he is the captain for all three formats,” said Akram while replying to a NDTV question during a virtual interaction organized by Star Sports Network.

“He is a young captain; he is still learning. As far as comparisons are concerned, I think it is bit too early for me, Babar is on the right track to be where Virat is but comparing him to Virat at this stage is a bit too early. But as I said he is on the completely right track to be one of the modern-day great,” he added.

While replying to another NDTV question on how important Asia Cup would be for Virat who has not scored a century for more than 1000 days?

Akram said: “Not just Virat, but for every player from every team. This tournament is very important for all teams from Asia. It is practice before the World Cup, and if you win, it would be icing on the cake, you’ll get the confidence if you get runs or wickets against top sides.”

However, Ravi Shastri said that playing so many games leading into the World Cup can cause injuries and this is why every side needs to have a bigger pool heading into the World Cup.

Once the squads are announced for the World Cup, I think the cut-off period is one month. So, once you play these bilaterals, ensure you have a bigger squad. Add another 5-6 players who you can put into the mix to give the main players a break who will be playing the World Cup,” said Shastri.

Asia Cup 2022 will be broadcast from 27th August on Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar

Check out the Team India squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 here.

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