5 burning questions Asia Cup will answer ahead of WorldT20
The Asia Cup is back, leaner and meaner. The tournament, which for a while, had lost its relevance, largely because of its ODI format, often redundant and squeezed in amidst tight schedules, is trying to prove its importance and justify its existence.The timing of the tournament has ensured that the Asia Cup which goes underway on 24th February will grab enough eyeballs. The reason – it is a T20 tournament, not an ODI competition, keeping in mind the upcoming World Cup.That is a massive decision and a pragmatic one, considering all the four big Asian teams could do with some practice under the sub-continental conditions. UAE has made it through the qualifying round and no matter how the results go from here, they’ll take heart from the fact that they got the better of Afghanistan, whose meteoric rise has been unmatchable in the last couple of years, in the international Associate circuit.Besides providing some high adrenaline entertainment, the Asia Cup will also provide some answers to analysts and fans watching the tournament keenly.
#5 How are the sub-continental spinners performing?
Sri Lanka has Herath and Sachithra Senanayake. Pakistan has Afridi, Hafeez, Malik and Wasim. India has Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh and Pawan Negi. Bangladesh has Nasir Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan and Arafat Sunny. That is a lot of spinners from the sub-continent.
The success of the teams from the sub-continent in the World Cup, which will be played on spinner-friendly tracks, will depend on how well their spinners perform. India boasts of the biggest variety but Bangladesh rely on slowing down the pace using their spinners.
Considering Indian grounds are smaller, spinners getting it wrong can also lose matches for their teams. The Asia Cup will be a good sign of what is to come, as summer sets in and slows the pitches down. A look at the various spinners will show how much each of the teams rely on their tweakers for breakthroughs as well as for containment of runs.