The 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup will take place in Australia from October 16, and India will play their first game against Pakistan on October 23 at Melbourne Cricket Ground. In last year’s edition of the T20 World Cup as well, India opened their campaign against the arch-rivals, but for the first time in the history of World Cup matches, suffered a defeat against the Men in Green.
This year, India will seek to take revenge for the humiliation they suffered in Dubai and settle the scores. But before the contest in front of a jam-packed MCG crowd, the two teams will take on each other in the Asia Cup T20 tournament as well. In the six-team tournament, which will take place from August 27 in the United Arab Emirates, India will face Pakistan on August 28 in their tournament opener.
The game against Babar Azam and Co. will see the return of Virat Kohli to the Indian team after a gap of more than five weeks. The former Indian skipper skipped the West Indies white-ball tour and is not going to Zimbabwe either, where, under KL Rahul’s captaincy, India will face the hosts in three ODIs.
Virat’s form has been a topic of debate for quite some time now. He wasn’t able to perform as per expectations in the England matches and pressure will be back on him when he takes the field again after spending some time out of it.
According to former Pakistani spinner Danish Kaneria, the time has come for Virat to bounce back from the lean patch and deliver big scores for the Men in Blue in the upcoming Asia Cup if he wants to be a part of the T20 World Cup side.
Kaneria feels that even though Virat is a proven performer, his indifferent form could hurt the Indian team in their ambitions to win the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
“If Kohli wants to be considered for the T20 World Cup, he will need to come back with a bang. He will need to perform by hook or by crook. You can’t have such huge baggage with the team and then to bench him will also be incredibly tough. Pakistan will hope that Kohli’s form slump continues because if he gets back his mojo, he will be dangerous.”
Virat has scored runs at an average of 77.75 against Pakistan in the T20Is. He was India’s leading run getter in the 2021 T20 World Cup match as well.
