Team India will take the field on August 28, Sunday, against arch-rivals Pakistan to commence their Asia Cup title defence, in the UAE. India are the winners of the last two editions – in 2018 and 2016 – and will be aiming to make a hat-trick of Asia Cup trophies.
This tournament is also important as India will look to finalize their combination and players for the T20 World Cup a couple of months later.
Also, these two tournaments this year – Asia Cup and T20 World Cup – may well prove to be the last of some of the top Indian stars, given their age, form and the factory line of youngsters who specialize in white-ball formats. The next Asia Cup is expected to take place in 2024.
Here are 3 Indian players who might be playing their last Asia Cup this year:
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is no more invincible and indispensable to India’s T20I team; given his shocking dip in form in the IPL 2022 – average of 22 and strike rate of 115 – followed by a dismal England tour – where he couldn’t score more than 20 in any of his 6 innings – there have even been calls to drop Kohli from the T20 eleven.
However, he is back after a month-long break. But if his woeful form continues, he may find himself out of the T20 World Cup side.
Kohli is 33 and has always hailed Test cricket as the truest, purest form of the game. It would not be a surprise if Kohli even retires from T20 cricket after this year, or from all white-ball cricket after next year’s home ODI World Cup to put all his focus and energies in Test cricket.
Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik’s fairytale story of his comeback at the age of 37 has got everyone championing for him to not only be in the squad but also in the eleven at both Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup.
Karthik had a stunning IPL 2022 season for RCB – smashing 330 runs at a strike rate of 183 – following which he was recalled to the Indian team in the niche role of a finisher, and he bagged Man of the Match awards vs South Africa and West Indies, further repaying the faith shown in him by the management.
Karthik is 37 and by the time the 2024 edition of the Asia Cup comes around he will be 39; he’s already unlikely to be part of India’s plans after this year’s T20 World Cup, so the Asia Cup 2022 is most certain to be Dinesh Karthik’s last.
Rohit Sharma
35-year-old Rohit Sharma is even older than Kohli and has an unfulfilled Test career. Rohit is now the captain of the Test team as well.
He will be of age 37 by 2024 and it would be incredibly difficult for him to juggle between all three formats plus the IPL.
Given he’s achieved a lot in white-ball cricket, he is expected to step away from limited-overs internationals after the 2023 ODI World Cup, passing on the duties to youngsters, and, similar to Kohli, might just decide to focus on his Test career.
