The Asia Cup 2022 is set to be a blockbuster event with all the teams looking in good form and shaping up their squads nicely. The event will be played in Dubai and Sharjah, with the former hosting the tournament opener on August 27 and the final on September 11.
India are the defending champion having won the tournament in 2018 and before that in 2016. India went undefeated throughout the 2018 Asia Cup, winning 5 matches while one vs Afghanistan was tied.
While the 2018 tournament was in the ODI format, this year’s edition will be in the T20 format to allow the teams better preparation opportunities for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 slated for October-November in Australia. Hence, all the players will want to put their best performances forward.
Who was the Player Of The Tournament in the 2018 Asia Cup?
India opener Shikhar Dhawan was named the Player of the Tournament of the 2018 Asia Cup, which was also held in the UAE. Dhawan finished as the tournament’s top run-scorer with 342 runs in 5 innings at a brilliant average of 68 and an above-par strike rate of 102.
The left-handed Indian opener had started off the tournament in style – scoring 127 runs in 120 balls against Hong Kong, and 46 vs Pakistan, to help India smoothly get in the Super 4.
In the Super 4, Dhawan scored 47 vs Bangaldesh, and then came a memorable century: 114 off 100 balls against Pakistan in India’s dominating 9-wicket win.
Dhawan was rested for the match against Afghanistan, but that seemed to have broken his rhythm as he managed only 15 in the final vs Bangaldesh but India did manage to win the final, ending a successful tournament for Shikhar Dhawan.
Dhawan’s opening partner, Rohit Sharma, who was also India’s stand-in skipper then in place of the rested Virat Kohli, finished behind Dhawan with 317 runs with the help of one century – vs Pakistan – and a couple of fifties.
Now, though, Shikhar Dhawan won’t be seen in the Asia Cup 2022 as he’s not part of India’s T20 team anymore. He has continued to remain a crucial component of the ODI eleven.
India squad for Asia Cup 2022: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan. Standbys: Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar.
