Former Australian cricketer Shane Watson predicted the winner of the upcoming Asia Cup 2022. He also talked about the clash between India and Pakistan. 

The countdown for Asia Cup 2022 has just begun. The marquee tournament will kick-start on Saturday (27th August). Sri Lanka will take on Afghanistan in the tournament opener and the much-anticipated India versus Pakistan clash will take place on Sunday (28th August). 

The tournament was originally slated to take place in Sri Lanka but due to political and financial crisis in the country, the event was shifted to UAE. All the teams have named their squad and have begun their preparations in the gulf country. 

Read Also: WATCH- Virat Kohli catches up with Rashid Khan and Babar Azam during practice session

India and Pakistan are favourites to win the tournament as they both have a pretty balanced side and all their departments look settled. But it’s fair to say that the Rohit Sharma-led side has a slight advantage over them, considering their track record in the tournament as they have seven titles to their name. 

Speaking during the ICC review, Shane Watson backed India to win the Asia Cup 2022. He also talked about the India-Pakistan clash, saying although the Babar Azam-led side would be confident, the Rohit-led side is likely to win. 

“My predicted winner is India. That first game is going to be very special to watch because Pakistan have full belief now that they can beat this Indian team. I think, really, whoever wins that game is going to go on and win the Asia Cup.

“[But] I’ve just got a feeling India [will win the tournament]. They’ve got so much firepower all the way through their batting order, so it’s going to be hard to be able to contain them," Shane Watson said. 

Indian team has reached Dubai and has started their preparations for the tournament. Recently, a video of the team’s first session went viral on the internet. Kohli was seen also in the video having light moments with Babar and Rashid Khan. 

(ICC inputs)