Asia Cup: Will The Handshake Drama Repeat If Pakistan Win Today?

The million-dollar question is not really about cricket today. Rather, it's about a simple gesture - the customary handshake between captains and players before and after a game of cricket.

It's about a norm that was broken last Sunday when India played its first cricket match against Pakistan four months after the two countries fought a four-day war.

So will players rise above the political tensions and shake hands today when the two teams play the Super Four match in the Asia Cup - exactly a week after India's no-handshake stance threw the Asia Cup into turmoil?

But whether players shake hands or not, what will be really important for Pakistan is to improve their batting against India's bowling attack, especially the left-arm spin of Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep was once again unplayable, delivering a splendid performance as India won the September 14 match convincingly at Dubai International Stadium.

When the two teams lock horns again on the same ground, all eyes will be fixed on Pakistan opener Saim Ayub.

The talented 23-year-old opener is in the middle of a dreadful run. With three ducks in three matches in a row, Ayub is facing the biggest battle of his life - he must regain the form that made him one of the most exciting young players in the world.

But will it be easy for the beleaguered opener to give his team a good start against India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya while opening the innings for a team under incredible pressure following all the controversies?

The left-hander's stroke-play has earned him comparisons to iconic Pakistan batsman Saeed Anwar, the tormentor of Indian bowlers in the 1990s.

But it's one thing to look elegant like Anwar, and quite another to translate the talent into consistent performances.

A myriad 'New Anwars' had faded into oblivion before Ayub broke into the Pakistan team in 2023.

Ayub is part of a team in transition as coach Mike Hesson attempts to build a squad for the future.

But this is a relatively young team needs time to find its feet.

The gulf in class is huge between Agha's side and the reigning T20 world champions.

The well-drilled India team that features world-class players in all three departments - batting, pace and spin bowling - is the far superior side on paper.

But Pakistan have a history of bouncing back from the dead and the romantics will point to Imran Khan's Cornered Tigers of 1992.

But that 1992 World Cup-winning team had Imran Khan, arguably the greatest leader of men on a cricket field. And some pure geniuses like Wasim Akram and Inzamam-ul Haq, who were capable of turning a game on its head in the blink of an eye, even under the most intense pressure moments.

But this team is playing under a very different kind of pressure, born of cricket boards' ego battles and two nuclear-armed countries' dangerous conflicts.

If they can keep their emotions in check for 40 overs and pull off an upset, the pressure will be on India to decide whether to stick to the no-handshake policy or extend their hands to acknowledge the winner of a sporting contest.

Teams:

India (possible): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Sanju Samson (wk), 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel/Harshit Rana/Arshdeep Singh, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Varun Chakravarthy.

Pakistan (possible): 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Salman Agha (capt), 5 Hasan Nawaz, 6 Khushdil Shah, 7 Mohammad Haris (wk), 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar Ahmed.

Match starts at 6:30 pm UAE Time at Dubai International Stadium.

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