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Asia Cup 2022, India vs Pakistan: Watch out for these key player battles

Now that the two arch-rivals don't play any bilateral series due to political reasons, India-Pakistan matches in international multi-nation tournaments add to the intrigue of the storied rivalry between the two cricketing superpowers. India and Pakistan are set to clash in their Asia Cup opener at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on August 28. This will be match number 2 of the Asia Cup, which was shifted from Sri Lanka to the UAE due to the ongoing crisis in the island nation. Both India and Pakistan have lost their pace spearheads Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Afridi to injuries but that won’t affect the spiciness and excitement that comes with an India-Pakistan encounter. TimesofIndia.com here looks at some of the key player battles that can be the difference between victory and defeat and what you need to watch out for: Virat Kohli vs Usman QadirVirat Kohli may be going through a lean patch by his own lofty standards, but underestimating the former Indian captain in a match as big will be a mistake Pakistan will not be wanting to make. India's first match of the Asia Cup against Pakistan will be Kohli’s 100th T20I and he will be gunning more than anyone else to get a formidable score.

ICC ODI Rankings: Shubman Gill Jumps 45 places To 38th Position; Virat Kohli Remains Static In Fifth

Indian opener Shubman Gill has jumped a whopping 45 places to be ranked 38th in the ICC ODI rankings released on Wednesday. The 22-year-old youngster had a memorable outing in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe that also saw him scoring his maiden ton (130 off 97 balls) in the last game in Harare. Meanwhile, former Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who did not feature in the ODI series against Zimbabwe, held on to his fifth position with a rating points of 744.

Asia Cup permutations: How can UAE qualify to face Virat Kohli, Babar Azam and Co?

Life under new captaincy might have started with a shock defeat for UAE, but their chances of qualifying for the Asia Cup are still in their own hands.

Jeremy to bulk up to 73kg, will fight Achinta Sheuli for Olympic qualification

With the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) scrapping 67kg from the Paris Games, Jeremy, who won the gold in the category at the CWG, will bulk up to compete in the 73kg weight class. However, India already has representation in the weight division in Sheuli, who is the national record holder and reigning CWG champion in the 73kg division. The two will now go head to head in a bid to seal qualification for the 2024 Olympics as only one lifter per country is allowed in a weight class.

ICC media rights: Audit firm PWC opts out of bid process; Cricket body says they were on board for 'due diligence'

PWC), advising the International Cricket Council (ICC) on the sale of media rights for the next cycle beginning with the India market, are learnt to have quit the process. While precise details of why PWC have decided to opt out are unclear, their exit comes on the heels of broadcasters constantly reminding the ICC that the process set in place for sale of rights is convoluted and lacks transparency. When asked for details, ICC told TOI: "PWC were contracted to support the ICC's media rights sales process in two phases. Firstly, providing background checks as part of the due diligence on all bids which is ongoing. The second element was to act as an independent third party to hold the financial bids securely between submission and opening. "Recent clarifications to bidders confirmed that bids can be submitted and opened simultaneously meaning PWC's services were no longer required to securely hold financial bids. PWC continue to support the process in other respects." The development takes place after a series of exchanges between the ICC and the broadcasters when the latter kept telling the governing body that the media rights tender was "confusing" and kept requesting for amendments. Here is a FAQ on the points that broadcasters had raised over the last one month.

BWF World Championships: Lakshya Sen enters pre-quarterfinals

Commonwealth Games champion Sen won his second round match 21-17, 21-10, taking 72 minutes to complete the formality. After trailing 3-4, the ninth seeded Sen grabbed a six-point lead to be 13-7. The Indian continued to stay ahead before comfortably wrapping up the first game. Sen, a world championship bronze medallist, then maintained his stranglehold over the Spanish shuttler and won the second game by a bigger margin. In the second game, the first six points were shared between the two players, but the 21-year-old Indian pulled ahead riding on his superior play. Enjoying a massive nine-point lead at one stage of the second game, it was only a matter of time before Sen completed the job. Last edition's runner-up Kidambi Srikanth crashed out after a straight game defeat to world number 32 Zhao Jun Peng. Kidambi went down against his Chinese counterpart 18-21, 17-21 in a match lasting only 34 minutes. The 29-year-old was out of sorts in the opening game as it took only 12 minutes for Zhao to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Indian, already on the back foot, tried to up the ante in the second game and led 16-14 but too many unforced errors helped Zhao secure the victory. Earlier, the Indian men's doubles pair of M R Arjun and Dhruv Kapila moved to the pre-quarterfinals but Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy made a second round exit from the prestigious tournament. The unseeded Arjun and Kapila upstaged eighth seeds and last edition's bronze medallists Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark 21-17, 21-16 in the their second round match. They will face Hee Yong Kai Terry and Loh Kean Hean of Singapore next.

ICC ODI Rankings: Shubman Gill jumps 45 places to 38th; Virat Kohli remains static at fifth

The 22-year-old youngster had a memorable outing in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe that also saw him scoring his maiden ton (130 off 97 balls) in the last game in Harare. Meanwhile, former Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who did not feature in the ODI series against Zimbabwe, held on to his fifth position with a rating points of 744.

Cheteshwar Pujara Completes 5,000 runs In List A Cricket

Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara has completed 5,000 List A cricket runs. India's Test veteran accomplished this landmark during his side's One Day Cup match against Middlesex at Hove on Tuesday. Pujara unleashed a rare side of him during his side Sussex's match against Middlesex, smashing 132 runs in just 90 balls with 20 fours and two sixes. He was striking runs at a great strike rate of 146.66.

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Asia Cup 2022, India vs Pakistan: Watch out for these key player battles

ICC ODI Rankings: Shubman Gill Jumps 45 places To 38th Position; Virat Kohli Remains Static In Fifth

Asia Cup permutations: How can UAE qualify to face Virat Kohli, Babar Azam and Co?

Jeremy to bulk up to 73kg, will fight Achinta Sheuli for Olympic qualification

ICC media rights: Audit firm PWC opts out of bid process; Cricket body says they were on board for 'due diligence'

BWF World Championships: Lakshya Sen enters pre-quarterfinals

ICC ODI Rankings: Shubman Gill jumps 45 places to 38th; Virat Kohli remains static at fifth

Cheteshwar Pujara Completes 5,000 runs In List A Cricket