Team India will return to action in the shortest format of the game on Sunday when the side takes on Pakistan in the men's Asia Cup 2022 group game in Dubai. Both sides will renew their rivalry for the first time this year, having met at the same venue last year where Pakistan claimed a 10-wicket victory. However, the absence of Shaheen Afridi remains one of the biggest talking points ahead of the game on August 28; Afridi was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury.
Afridi had played a major role in Pakistan's cruising win against India last year, as he removed the famed top-order of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli in the game to put India on backfoot.
On Thursday, a number of Indian players including Yuzvendra Chahal, Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Rahul talked to Afridi who remains with the rest of the Pakistan squad in the UAE. They enquired about Afridi's present injury status, and he had revealed to Pant that it would take him around five weeks to make a complete recovery.
Last night, India took part in a training session for their Asia Cup opener and Rohit Sharma interacted with a number of Pakistan fans as well, who had a rather hilarious request in relation to Afridi's absence from the game. During his interaction, the fan urged Rohit to be a little gentle on the bowlers because Afridi is not playing.
{{/usCountry}}Last night, India took part in a training session for their Asia Cup opener and Rohit Sharma interacted with a number of Pakistan fans as well, who had a rather hilarious request in relation to Afridi's absence from the game. During his interaction, the fan urged Rohit to be a little gentle on the bowlers because Afridi is not playing.
{{/usCountry}}"The class with which he has played in last 10-15 years, his character is the exact same. We called him and said we are Pakistani, and he came to meet us and even hugged us. We talked to him and we said, “iss dafa thoda haath halka rakhna kyunki hamaare bowler new hain, Shaheen aur Amir bhai nahi hai (Please be a little gentle on our bowlers because they are new. Shaheen and Amir bhai are not here),” a fan told journalist Vimal Kumar.
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India are placed in Group B with Pakistan and Hong Kong; Rohit Sharma's men will take on the latter on August 31. The top-2 teams will then qualify for the Super Four stage. Group A, meanwhile, consists of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.